


Darkening Days

by Maiuo



Category: Swapfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Angst, Blood and Violence, But Mutt also knows boundaries, Corruption Souls, Device Collars, Emotions are literally pushed to the side, F/M, Felines; Feline themed everywhere, Fluff, Gen, Gore, Just... Not in that way? She makes it perfectly clear, Master Collars, Master/Servant, Miscommunication, Mutt is a Womanizer hardcore, Mutt uses drugs, Mystery, Numbing emotions, Only one set of drugs; Smoking habits, Papyrus/Reader - Freeform, Poisoned Souls, Protection Collars, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader forces emotions down, Reader has a hard time trusting anyone, Reader has a super secret special Collar, Reader is a collared human, Reader is prone to block everything out besides her Mission, Reader is slightly tsundere when tired AF, Reader is stubborn as all hell, Relationship Collars, Romance, Sans & Reader - Freeform, Sans is a sneaky and sly brother, Sans is the younger brother, Story deals with Special Collars, Tags may contain spoilers, Tainted Souls, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-01-01 04:26:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18328601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiuo/pseuds/Maiuo
Summary: Since coming up to the Aboveground, the humans being pushovers, peace came easy once the Monsters were released. Things were still slow, Monsters and Humans lived in a good mix. Those who didn't want to be around have their own part of their territory while Monsters held their own with a similar mindset. Those who enjoyed each others company had a mixed society that allowed both to live in harmony easily.But after a few years, things began to turn for the worst with bodies of both species littering areas nicknamed 'Kill Zones'.It doesn't help Sans and Papyrus as they are ordered to investigate, being one of the high ranking Monsters their Queen has as they desperately try to regrow their Royal Guard back to manageable numbers.Not to mention, if anything happens to humans on their watch... Well, let's say the Monsters won't become too comfortable for much longer?Along the way, it seems Papyrus has gotten himself-... A human?How will this turn out?





	1. First Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!Warning for this chapter;!!!!  
>  _Gore, Gun shots, Description of Blood, Death._  
> 

     Today seemed like a nice day. The birds were chirping, flower petals scattered with a soft breeze, kids were cheering somewhere in the nearby park as they played. Monsters were walking the streets, acting like they have been for centuries. One could catch some glancing up the the sky occasionally, still with wonder and disbelief in their eyes. Looking up, the sun shined down as clouds began to form, sometimes hiding the beautiful golden glow behind their grey and white forms only to be bathed in warmth again as it reemerged.

 

Yeah, it was peaceful…

 

Something one Monster still was not used to. It was an easier life Aboveground, left no room for paranoia, yet he couldn’t help but keep old habits. Seeing petals instead of dust scattering was a relief to his bones, though he couldn’t help but recall some sickening memories. The playful screeching of children was well welcomed, if not just a bit more annoying than terrified wailings he was so used to.

 

Papyrus sighed gently, allowing the smoke of his dog treat to curl around his fangs and out from the fluff of his hood.

 

Despite being well welcomed from the moment they emerged, it was still a mixture of threats with some humans hating and fearing their kind. It was shocking, the Queen had thought it was a mere trap for the first few weeks... But after a certain incident of an attack happened where the Humans took to protecting them from others, with no sign of letting up afterward, even giving into the Queens demands of whatever they needed; The tired Queen had let her threat of war fade after some time, the kindness followed by the determined intensity to protect them from their own toxic species showed reminded her of their sweet adoptive child they now care for, ironically a human, who is learning to become the ambassador for all of Monster kind.

 

Turns out the child had no other guardians when they fell into their realm, so the humans _tried_ to take the child away from the Queen upon figuring this out, trying to explain how things worked up above. The Queen didn't like how they were talking, close to destroying those around with no mercy right then and there in a rage so fierce, the ones who opened their mouths couldn’t stop shaking. The humans swiftly changed their tunes, allowing the child to stay with the Monsters quickly with that threat shutting them up.

 

Papyrus had to snicker, the look on some of those humans faces were priceless during that moment.

 

Whatever happened after; Papyrus stopped paying attention, bored of the situation when things got more heavy with politics.

 

The two species had split areas for safety reasons, but there were still some that allowed both to mingle. Certain parts of each had what were called 'Blended' areas, but if one reached certain parts of either place, it'd turn dark quickly for the one trespassing. Despite the limitations, the signs, and other safety procedures used for both, it didn't stop the hatred of some Humans to come into their territory to cause unneeded chaos. Monsters would retaliate and do similar actions, but normally always stopped quickly enough by the Queens Royal Guards and special Watchdog while the Humans held their own Military forces.

 

In areas for the mingle parties to converse with, Papyrus would travel around the Humans place for a new change of scenery, hit a few bars after a particularly boring or stressful day, and enjoy his time with hitting on some hard on lookers. Some were open more to him than he thought, while others would shun him; But he found those more fun when they spat back…

 

Only for the next morning to wake up with a Monster in their beds and their lives destroyed.

 

Sans was currently getting information from the Queen about some creatures whereabouts ruining both Humans and Monsters lives inside the neighboring building Papyrus was currently resting against. He’s been waiting for his brother to give any signal that he might be needed, slowly trying to numb his mind with information instead of complete boredom he was suffering with right now.

 

Scratching his jaw in thought, the occurrence for the presences of his brother, who was now the Grand General of the slow, regrowing assembly of the Royal Guard, was something along the lines of either a few or more-... Well, no one was _certain_ if the people in question were humans or monsters themselves, but they were killing anyone without much care. How and who the creatures killed were erratic, like they have no purpose. It put everyone in danger, the humans had given their own help in special ways, their forces used to help secure certain areas.

 

Rumors are saying either sides are starting up soft territory wars, trying to fight against one another and going so far as to sink into certain cities to cause even more deranged havoc. Anti-Humans are going against Anti-Monsters… All vigilante shit that bristles Papyrus’ bones with annoyance. He’s had to take down a few couple of idiot’s when they began to target his brother… If Sans had realized, he never once showed it to which Papyrus was grateful for. He and many others would be in trouble if the humans found out about _that…_

 

He wasn’t one for allowing an idiot to trespass in his brothers-... Territory… Without some _consequences_.

 

Papyrus took another deep drag of his smoke, finishing it just in time as his brother came walking out of the building he was watching. With the smoke easing his nerves, he exhaled and quickly tossed the butt down, stomping it out before he took a quick shortcut behind his brother for news. No doubt if it took that long, something was boiling over.

 

“THE QUEEN HAS GIVEN US AN ORDER, MUTT.” Sans began as he held the files under his claws, not once looking up from them as he kept his strides to the mountain. “WE MUST SEE TO THIS DISASTER IMMEDIATELY. HEAD WEST TO THE MOUNTAINS OPENING AND AWAIT MY PRESENCE. IF YOU FIND ANYONE SUSPICIOUS ROAMING AROUND THE PROXIMITY, TAKE THEM WITH MEANS OF HOLDING. HARM THEM IF YOU MUST, BUT RENDER THEM ALIVE, UNDERSTAND?” Without so much as turning around, he began to neatly file the new information within his cellphones **‘Important Work Case’** file storage.

 

...Fuck. Late night then, there goes his plans.

 

Papyrus simply gave his natural huff; A quiet understanding between the brothers that Sans rhetorical question was acknowledged. Without another word, Papyrus used a shortcut to go to the post he was ordered to. Sans never did liked his power of transportation, saying it was a lazy way to go about things. Well, besides when it was absolutely _necessary_ , anyways.

 

Papyrus rolled his shoulders and scanned the area of anything new as the world reformed around him in the now forest space.

 

Mount Ebott; The mountain of where he and all the other Monsters had been trapped under for a thousand years. It had become a place where Monsters come around to train, spar, or clearly get rid of old grudges from the past to finally move on. The opening and everything around the mountain had become a place of danger. The spot has been rumored to be yet another ‘Kill Zone’; Nicknamed for bodies of both species, even random animals, to be found without means of death besides slaughtered ruthlessly. What once was a nice place to maybe recall nice memories, quickly died into a turf war between the clans.

 

No sooner Papyrus glazed around, he found a pile of dust drift from under a tree, leaves mixing with it as it slowly scatters. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly took his phone out and took a few snaps with his camera. Knowing Sans, he would both want the dust and photo evidence of this monster as they laid. Even if it looked like they came to have a peaceful passing, Papyrus couldn’t get the itch of someone else nearby out of his scarred skull.

 

Unlike back in the Underground, Papyrus and Sans now collect the dust of Monsters to bring back to their families if they were quick enough. If no family members could be found, then they brought them to the Queen, who would do stars knows what with the remains. They never would do something so tedious, was easier to allow the dust to scatter mindlessly. Back then, the dust was collected by lower LV monsters to make a show of their strength when clearly they didn’t have any bite to them, a tactic he used back when he and Sans were younger to help themselves stay alive. But with things being more peaceful above, the months coming out of the mountain had become therapeutic to many Monsters since those times. It’s been a little over a few years now, the count of it always tripping Papyrus up to the point he forgets time is actually moving forward.  

 

Once he’s done collecting the monsters dust with the help of his phones ability to store physical items within, he labeled it ‘FM#1’. Short for ‘Forest Monster’, no doubt there’ll be more. Keeping his pace steady as he walked deeper within the woods, more dust could be found laying around. Mixture of monsters dusts seemed to travel together, so he quickly took a snap of that. When the dust combined too much, it was best to combine them both up together, they can still be distinguished later with Undyne’s machine, anyways. Once he finished labeling, couldn’t find any other dust lingering around, he pushed onwards.

 

As Papyrus did so, a slight hint of iron began to travel to his naval cavity. Scrunching up his face, he felt his bones becoming tense as the air thickened with both a scent of iron mixing with dust. It took him every ounce to not choke on the scent, thickening as he got deeper within the woods.  

 

The only other time he’s smelled that was when-

 

A skull piercing scream echoed within the forest not too far in front of him; Forcing Papyrus to immediately follow the sounds. Pursuing the disturbing wails with ease, the trees blurred past, the trail of iron became stronger as dust was left behind, he felt his magic began to twist with anticipation.

 

Yet when he finally got to the scene, he stayed hidden behind a large enough tree that hid his slim figure impeccable, the shade helping his dark clothing blend into what little shadows were shared beneath the trees leaves. The clouds had become thicker up here, looking as if rain would begin to pour soon. Was the only thing that helped ease his Soul down at least a small fraction before he caught the scene before him.

 

“You-!!... You stupid _whore!_ ” A gruff male spat at a female who laid on the ground. “How dare you! Do you know what you’re doing?! You think you can take us all on!? C’mon, Bitch!” The male loomed over the smaller form, who stayed perfectly still. “You know who you’re dealing with here?! Fuckin’ disgrace you are!”

 

“Heh, bet it was a fluke earlier!” Another male heaved a shaky laugh that had Papyrus lift a questionable brow at.

 

“Look at ‘er! Can’t even stand back up, course it was a fluke… Bastards deserved ta‘ve died if they lost from ‘er, anyways! Waste of space, she might’ve done us a favor!” Another gave a hearty chuckle, smoke could be seen coming out of his mouth as he chewed on some type of cigarette. “I say we giv’ ‘er some thanks, ye?”

 

Papyrus stayed at the edge of the forest, his eyes drooping ever so slightly as he tried not to huff in agitation.

 

_Really?_ He has to break up a _human fight?_ Yeah, he’ll just stay right where he was, thanks. Not too into saving dames who’ll end up being useless, anyways. Had enough of those when his annoying drunk self went a bit too far, only to end up with a psycho tailing him to no end. Probably some drug scheme gone wrong, anyways. She probably deserves whatever, why should he get involved?

 

...Because they _are_ in the forest. Sans said subdue anyone _suspicious_.

 

Papyrus sighed inaudibly to himself, getting ready to walk out of his hiding spot. There had to be about four larger men surrounding a female. All of them tainted souls, easy enough to hold down with his gravity magic and take notes and question them before his brother followed his magic reading off his collar. Felt his Soul give a tight squeeze, only for his magic to begin to flow freely through his body as he raised a hand slowly, about to hold them all down-

 

Only to stop in his tracks.

 

The female had moved in a way that she had kicked the male who was looming over her, earning a sickening sound as her leg retracted back as fast as it lashed out, making a bone protrude out of the man's shin with what looked to be minimal effort of her own part. It was so fast, the male in question couldn’t analyze the pain until moments later when yet another wail filled the unnerving air. Another fast strike to the males upper leg sent him backwards, that strike had not even broken the fabric of the males jeans, yet blood was clearly soaking through it.

 

The female sat up in the circle of the men, who were now all staring in disbelief or shock, the fear slowly revealing over their faces from their tough act mere moments ago.

 

“W-wh-... What the fuck!?” Another male yelled, the horror filled his face. “What did you--”

 

The female began to stand up, only to quickly give an uppercut punch to the one who talked to his throat, causing him to choke in pain. Papyrus couldn’t help kill a chuckle in his throat as the mans clear attempts at trying to keep his ability to stay tough broke with the act of coughing up blood. _Oof,_ Papyrus feels glad he doesn’t have any flesh or muscle with the shit she’s dishing out…

 

Heh, always was a messy situation, no matter the fluid.

 

Papyrus tilted his head as he studied the strange phenomenon happening. Females are normally so much weaker than the males in their species. The human in question looked young, their hair was long, tangled, yet it still covered her face in a way it gave Papyrus some odd feeling of nostalgia. Their clothing in question seemed to be dark grey… Looked to have a turtleneck robe that was cut in a way that if she needed to, her legs could stretch endlessly, with red thread trimming and black sleeves hiding her arms. Had a familiar symbol on it around her chest. She looked more torn than their clothing, but yet  with how dark her attire was, the fresh color of bright _red_ showed in spots before it sank in, darkening her clothes.

 

Fresh blood. Papyrus felt his Soul give a sickening churn in his chest, but ignored it for the show taking place.

 

When she moved, it was oddly similar to something he’s seen before. But-... _Where?_

 

Papyrus couldn’t help steal a few glances at her legs, wishing he could let a bit of a whistle out at their toned structure. Seeing as this was a stressful situation-... He’ll do that later.

 

What if she was the thing that had begun killing monsters and other humans who had traveled around the mountain?... She’s giving off enough killing intent, especially when her glare keeps darting to the male she had broken the leg of. Wouldn’t be too far-fetched, then she was Papyrus’ main target. But what if she was just really good at fighting and these idiots were Anti-monster fucks who were also a huge gang that killed other humans for mundane items?

 

… Their all his targets now.

 

The sound of a gun shot rang out, making Papyrus blink out of his studying as his Soul thrummed heavily within his chest and his nerves began to spike.

 

One of the males had pulled a hand held gun and shot the female? The bullet shot through her left arm, blood pouring out of the wound as it escaped her flesh, going into the other males side. Papyrus couldn’t help but watch as yet another skull piercing scream emitted out to the action, the idiot who shot was now in a pure panic, shooting wildly at her.

 

The scream didn’t come from the female to Papyrus’ surprise, but the male who had fallen from shock as another bullet pierced his upper thigh. He watched in fascination as the female made no sound of her own, turning to the shooter and grabbed his wrist with one hand, slamming her other palm upward against the males elbow; Making his arm virtually bend in a way even Papyrus flinched while a sickening sound of bone cracked out followed by yet another yell of pain. The bullets kept flying, but luckily for the female the man was too much in a panic as he tried to gain his comrades attention to _‘Get this fucker off me!’._ The last man was standing dumbfounded as he watched his friend get assaulted, fear stricken that had Papyrus feel like he was in a damn theater watching an action movie. The idiot who was staring has his gun pointed at her, but yet his finger wasn't on the trigger, his hand shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. 

 

The female never once slowed her movements, looked to have about tore the shooters arm off. She ignored the shaking man, who looked ready to piss himself, as she faced the one who had shot her. The man's arm now laid limp against his side, earning a nice whimper from the man who quickly tried to back away, horror in his eyes as she now held the gun up towards him. The others were stalk still as she aimed it right at the man.

 

“H-hey n-ow… Let’s not-” As he tried to speak up, she pulled the trigger; Shooting him square in chest without flinching.

 

Papyrus stood there, watching the males Soul shatter and falling limp all at once. A few more bullet shots had rung out, either by her hand or the males friends, but he was entranced by the way the female moved. The ringing noise of the shootings began to fade once they all ran out of bullets.

 

Papyrus was used to the screams, the begging, the whining of others. The sounds of the weapons the humans had is new, always making his Soul jump in anticipation. Yet not hearing the familiar noises for a good while, the show certainly gave him satisfaction. Especially when a female could fight for herself... Was he a bit sadistic watching it? Maybe, but it was also making him sick with the noises of bones breaking, the shooting being no help as it grinded into his hearing and against the growing headache forming. 

 

To say he both _enjoyed_ and _hated_ it was an understatement.

 

Wanting to get his mindset off that, he studied the females face. There was nothing he could find. Not a single trace of fear, anger, no emotion whatsoever from where Papyrus could see. She seemed to be a literal doll; Void of life, an empty vessel. Infact, without that Soul of hers which had gotten darker since he got to the scene, seemed she might had been one. A ruined, marked up doll that just needed some good cleaning, and she’d be ready to be put back up on the shelves to sell. Cautiously, Papyrus kept his eyes on the situation at hand, debating if he should step in now for the males sakes or allow the female to do what she wants before stepping in to stop before things can escalate further…

 

Well, if he lets her kill all the men, there’d be less work for him to do...

 

But more work for Sans.

 

Whatever these guys did to piss her off… Damn, he hasn’t seen anyone else lose it that bad since his brother almost dusted the whole Canine army due to treason.

 

Papyrus took out one of his smoke treat, gently biting the end of it as he lit it up to take a slow drag. Immediately his Soul began to settle from the help of the drug, gently blowing behind the tree as he kept his eyes trained on the female.

 

She was pretty… _Interesting._

 

By the time it settled down, the female was the only one left standing, surrounded by the mens unmoving and now silenced selves. Shit, maybe Papyrus should have stepped in sooner?

 

Oh well, the others were alive, if just barely.

 

Taking a moment to allow his graze to travel her body, the female seemed to have been hit in her right calf, a few scratches on her cheeks from bullet grazings, her sides, and possibly other places Papyrus couldn’t identify right at his spot. All he could see was that her blood flowed down, mixing with splatters of the males that stained her, almost completely covering her body with that crimson blood as it dripped and flowed freely.

 

Humans were weird… Yet Papyrus couldn’t help but stay intrigued by them during their fighting. Not once has he seen an actual female fight, maybe ones who took self-defence classes… But nothing like what he just got done seeing.

 

What sent a shiver down Papyrus’ spine was the fact after it was all done, she finally had some kind of emotion on her face. Instead of tears, a scream of anger, maybe even some back talk like in those fighting movies, it was something that-... Wasn’t _stable._

 

A sickening smile of pure maliciousness graced her features as she studied one male in particular. The man was still somehow _conscious_ despite looking like a bullet case covered pillow. Holes in his legs and arms made moving useless, his gut was soaked in blood. Seemed the female had taken a gun and shot him endlessly while keeping him alive, making the male immobile. His pleases and cries where nothing but mere whimpers as he choked on his blood.

 

Pitiful attempt at begging, could do more than that for his life. If he could whimper, he could speak, even with the disgusting fluid flowing out of his mouth. Papyrus rolled his eyelights, he’s seen stronger beings either crumble and beg for their pitiful lifes… Or stayed true to being a real worthy opponent and kept their heads held high until the last strike of the blow was dealt.

 

Wait, hold on… Papyrus did a head count of the current men laying around her. _Three?_   Where’s- Oh. The last man seemed to have came to his senses as he hightailed it out of there. Well… Papyrus couldn’t let him escape, could he? Nah, Sans would have his head if that happens. Besides, doesn’t the guy want to watch his buddies and make sure their alright in the end?

 

Course he does, such a _thoughtful_ creature.

 

With a simple flick of Papyrus’ wrist, the man was forced more into the woods, forced against a tree by both his Soul pinned by gravity and his limbs pinned by bone daggers for safe keeping. The sight of the humans terrified face was humor in all this gore, but it quickly died as he appeared to have gone limp. Pity, he was hoping at least one other would stay awake.

 

Well, whatever. Having one alive should settle his brother for the need of information they may have. Extra points if the rest even survived though, he supposed.

 

...

 

Okay, welp. That was a very nice show. Regrets of not pulling out his phone to record the whole thing made him want to groan. This female might have just made his day easier, but if he wants to keep another one of those… _‘Victims’_ alive, he has to act fast.

 

Slowly lifting up his hands up, Papyrus began clapping his boney hands together as he exhaled from his smoke. Stepping out of the shadows, his own smirk began to cross his fangs. The slow sound of bone hitting bone gained his targets attention effortlessly as planned. Her smile began to settle, much to his pleasure as he slowly strolled out of the leaves and into the clearing.

 

“beautiful, Darlin’. jus’ _beautiful._ ” Papyrus purred. “‘n here i thought ya’d need a gentle bein’ ta come get ya outta tha’mess. impressive.”

 

The female simply glared at him, no emotion to show behind that tangled, filthy hair of hers. She didn’t so much as blink when Papyrus stood right beside her, draping an arm around her small shoulders, gently testing just how stable she really was with all those bullet wounds. No doubt she’ll still need healing. His gangly self was about three heads taller, her head right to the middle of his chest, maybe a bit lower if he stood straighter. Small thing compared to him, but many other human females were _a lot_ smaller… Was rather a nice surprise, felt better as he leaned against her in an attempt to gain her reaction.

 

Her attention was quickly back to the male in front of her however. Seemed she didn’t care about Papyrus’ appearance, which pleased him even more. Not hostile to Monsters, already a good sign.

 

Cocking his head just a bit, she was apparently stable enough to handle the little pressure being put on top of her, not even wincing with pain. Papyrus chewed a bit of his smoke’s end in thought, giving a hum as he watched her closely. That was curious…  but he decided to follow her glare, smiling down at the man who stared back at both of them, scared shitless. No doubt thinking it was Death himself knocking on his doorstep.

 

Speaking of which...

 

“ey, buddy… knock knock.” Papyrus smiled deadly at the hoodlem, recognition lit up in his eye sockets as he gave a lazy grin.

 

When the man didn’t reply, Papyrus huffed in annoyance. Leaning away from the current female to crouch to the males level, he gently rapped on the male's forehead with a knuckle, kicking him out of the shock.

 

“said... _‘Knock. Knock.’_ fuck-o…” Papyrus growled out.

 

“...W-who’s-”

“debt.” Papyrus smiled threateningly.

 

“D-d-debt-... w-who-”

“ _debt_ man runnin’, heh.” Papyrus took the man’s broken shinbone that was still sticking out and gave it a hard twist, earning him a nice scream from the man.

 

“mmm... well, not runnin’ no time soon, ey?” Papyrus stood back up, draping his arm back around the female who has not moved an inch.

 

“Alan Thomas…” Papyrus gave a dry chuckle, taking his smoke out to tap the ashes off over his body. “ya think i fuckin’ fergot yer ass? hell naw… bu’ looks like ya picked a fight wit’ a lil’ lady ‘n lost. such a’shame.” He tsked, glancing back to the unknown female, her sight unchanging from Alan.

 

“thanks ta lil’ Alley cat here, yer gunna be questioned ‘bout some stuff… damn, glad i ain’t you, pal.” He made his voice give a soft chuckle, making sure to nudge and gently grab the females shoulder.

 

...Not even a wince? He grabbed a hold of the shoulder that was grazed, making sure to have put enough pressure in his grasp to have made any other creature squeak in pain. What a weird human… Well, it’s peeking his curiosity enough to want to figure her out.

 

Yeah, Papyrus will have to take all of them in, he knows. She was just protecting herself… From a glance, anyways. The woman in general has still not moved, but her eyes shone with hatred down at the man who was staring up at them both with so much _fear_ Papyrus could smell it under all the blood. Made him want to gag, really. Then again, he could never get used to the smell of iron, anyways. The stench will stain his clothes, no doubt…

 

Oh, _fuck._ Papyrus groaned internally; He’s going to have to do _laundry_ to get this shit out of his clothes! He _is_ leaning against a pole of blood now, anyways. He should of thought that out more, but his smokes just ease him too much to care. These were his favorite, too… Damn shame, maybe he could just toss them and gain something new?...

 

Yeah, that sounds better.

 

“Y-you-... You know that _Monster?!_ ” Alan’s voice cracked, the fear in his eyes as he stared at Papyrus.

 

...Wait, why stare at _him?_

 

“wha’? now, tha’ ain’t nice.” Papyrus stood a bit straighter. “callin’ a lil’ lady a monstah jus’ cause she kicked yer ass. i take offence ta tha’, Buddy-boh.” Papyrus tilted his head, studying Alan’s face as it kept converting into emotions.

 

“Y-yo-ou!... D-don’t underst-and! She-! She-!! She’s a _DEMON!_ A T-true Monster-! Not what you guys--”

 

Papyrus slammed his foot down against Alan’s broken shin, gaining another piercing scream out and successfully shutting him up as he whines down to mere whimpers.

 

“save yer damn infermation when ya get ta th’fuckin’ buildin’, _fuck-o._ ” Papyrus spat. “from where i sees it, i don’t give no damns. heh, ya know ya should’ve left th’ fuckin’ area when ya knew i was after ya… lucky fer me, this Alley cat helped catch ya. made my job a shitload easier.” Papyrus gave yet another dry chuckle. "didn' have'ta lift a damn finger, neither."

 

Alan gave Papyrus another terror ridden face. Papyrus gave it no mind as he pulled his cellphone out, only for the female under his arm to move somewhat. Checking the screen, it seems that his brother had texted him about being in the area mere moments ago and is heading his way. A smirk followed suit onto his fangs, it’ll be no time at all until his brother gets here, so in the mean time he’ll just have to play babysitter.

 

“heh, allright then.” Papyrus huffed out, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “guess we’ll be havin’- eh?”  

 

Taking another glance down at the men, they all seemed to have passed out themselves now. Weaklings… On the bright side, guess he can finally give the woman some attention, see where she stands… If she can talk at all. She might be a bit shaken up, but anyone who can fight like _that_ … They don’t get shaken up easily.

 

“… listen, Kitten. ya hear me n’there?” Papyrus poked the top of the females head, trying to gain her attention as he slowly slid his hand at the curve of her back and down to her hip effortlessly.

 

Lady’s always melted when he used those cute pet names and gentle touches. Give them a little sugar, sweet talking, maybe get as close as he can and _bam._ They’re butter in his claws immediately. They were easy, at least… Though, when they were distressed like this, might take a bit to get them to come around.

 

A challenge… Papyrus felt a bit excited about.

 

She didn’t acknowledge him, but allowed his arm to loop around her without a fuss. When he gently brushed his thumb against her side, giving her a gentle squeeze in the process, it earned him nothing, not even a huff from her.

 

It only gave him what he deserved; Disgusting, sticky, blood red stained bones.

 

“Kitten, c’mon. gimmie yer attention, huh? lemme see wha’ kinda face y’got.” Papyrus used his sweet, raspy voice as he leaned down to her ear. Gently he cradled her cheek in his large claws with the other, brushing her hair away softly with his phalange. “gotta see tha’ beautiful-...”

 

But when her stone glare met his, Papyrus couldn’t help but stop his next pick up line as it died in his throat.

 

Her eyes flashed with momentary anger, only to settle with disinterest and back to nothing. Her eyes shone brightly as they looked up at Papyrus, right into his sockets as if she’s done this a million times before. He was used to at least fear showing in everyone's eyes when they looked at him, maybe even a weird love struck puppy after he used some sweet pick up lines, or even disgust with hitting on them? Hell, at least take _in_ his appearance!

 

No, not even recognition showed that she was looking at a _monster._ Papyrus quickly took this time to glance down at her chest to do a CHECK;

 

???

LV; 6

HP; 12.5/120

ATK; 100

DEF; 250

\-----

 

No name _or_ intentions?

 

Papyrus stayed quiet as his face converted into confusion. She’s a higher level female, many he’s seen haven’t even reached LV 3 before… Her HP is slowly going down, probably due to bleeding out. He has only seen this a few times back Underground when-... Well, very rare cases happened with Boss Monsters and their pets... It was impossible for this, she was only human.

 

Amnesia, then? No, something was amiss from that.

 

Interesting… More interesting than Papyrus would like to admit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a great introduction to a very dangerous world, right?
> 
> Eh, it's getting there! Whats a Swapfell Fic without a good bit of danger, of gore, and of some Mystery? 
> 
> I'm more curious about whats up with the female though... 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!! Tune in next time!!


	2. Mistakes Are Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mutt is distracted to the point it almost lands him in hot water with Sans.
> 
> So many accidents happen, he's never been so careless before!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!Warning for this chapter;!!!!  
>  _Description of Gore, Blood, Language, and very disturbing imagery of bodies._  
> 

“allright, Kitten. c’mon.” Papyrus huffed, walking the female a good distance away from the men as her intent was raising by the moment as she continued her glaring. “y’ever heard of _‘if looks could kill’_? glad ya ain’t glarin’ at me like that, shit...”

 

The feeling began to evaporate the farther Papyrus took the unknown female away from the men, her glaring contest broken as he made her face a different direction with ease. So far, she’s been nothing but compliant; Allowing Papyrus to steer her away, not once lashing out at him.

 

Yet.

 

His suspicions on if she was having aftershocks of trauma seemed to ring a bell, especially with the lack of emotions. Either she’s in a daze of sorts like he used to be when he was around her LV or she was actually having some sort of mental break down… Well, probably just getting over that lump of getting used to having so much LV, humans never could handle the amount that Monsters had risen to.

 

Eh… He’ll leave the questioning to Sans, let him figure out if she’s sane enough to release or insane to put in one of those human loony bins.

 

Papyrus stood straighter once he set her near a stump, prompting her to take a seat with a simple hand gesture. She did without hesitation, so calmly to his surprise. Again, not even a noise of pain rang from her lips or a twitch despite her looking torn and tired now despite the wounds seeping with blood.

 

...Still to this day, just the sight of seeing the red fluid flow down freely sends his Soul into a twist of-... Well, emotions he didn’t want to feel and memories he wish he could forget.

 

Taking the last drag of his smoke to quickly chase those useless thoughts away, Papyrus crumpled the butt of what remains out on in his palm, putting out the last of the embers before shoving it into his pocket. He pulled out some pink monster candy with his other, holding it in front of her face and dangled it somewhat playfully.

 

Papyrus never liked the taste of strawberries, but he knows a lot of females did. Was cute, really. When she raised her hand up to gently take, he felt a bit satisfied she at least responded before pointing at the it.

 

“tha’ there’s monstah candy. eat it and it’ll at least stop th’bleedin’. i’ll come back afta i finish wit' th'guys ta help ya wit' whateva’ else ya need healin', hm?”

 

She slowly lifted her gaze up to him, a slight build up of something ranging from anger to fear. The female didn’t open her mouth, but a pleading look dawned on her face, making Papyrus give her a gentle smirk in response.

 

So she’s not all far gone after all, that was a bit of a relief.

 

“now, now Kitten.” Papyrus said, tossing back his thumb at the men who lay comatose. “‘I jus’ don’ feel like playin’ Grim Reapah t’day, so i’ma heal ‘em jus’ enough so they won’ die. i feel they got some questions m’bro kinda needs…”   

 

When her gaze fell back down on the candy in her hand, Papyrus couldn’t help but reach out and gently gave her what he hoped was a reassuring touch on the top of her head, feeling the way it was frizzed but grimey under his bones.

 

“don’ worry, it won’ be nothin’ large. they won’ b’able ta run if tha’s what yer worried ‘bout.” He chuckled, giving her one more pat before turning. “ya stay ‘n be a good lil’ Kitten and i’ll give ya more treats. i’ll b’back.”

 

Back to not acknowledging him, the least Papyrus could do was keep her settled enough to leave her for a few for the men. If she can stand without showing so much of any pain, she’ll be good enough until he’s done healing the men to the point they won’t die in their sleep. Her HP was decreasing only mere half a point by the minutes where the men were just barely holding on to 1 measely HP. With the help of the candy, she’ll be in a better state to which will be easier to heal her once he returns. No doubt these guys will just drain his source of power easily…

 

Taking a quick glance back at her as he walked to grab the man he pinned to the tree earlier, sure enough she was just sitting, staring within the woods with that same emotionless expression he saw when he first got to the scene. Seems she's dazed, indeed. Hopefully she won't forget about the candy in her grips... Glancing back down at her chest, looks to be her Soul had darkened to the point he’s sure she was a Determination trait… No other type could fight like that, not even a Integrity.

 

He has hands on experience with _that_ , regrettably.

 

Maybe… Maybe he shouldn’t think about trying anything with her, after all. Determination Souls are-... Psychotic. But something kept poking at him about her… Something he couldn’t quite place. Like her movements, her clothing… Whatever it was, it was at the tip of his metaphorical tongue and he couldn’t-... _Say_ it? It was annoying him to no end, why the fuck couldn’t he think right?

 

Whatever, he can deal with it after these idiots ain’t rolling into their graves early.  

 

Papyrus got into position and gathered the men up quickly, being only somewhat careful as he lined them in a way his magic could sync up with the three of them to heal only the major, life threatening wounds at the same time without doing it separately. With them taking his mindset off his current predicament, Papyrus forced himself to relax enough to focus on the task at hand. He’s going to have to grab a shitload of Monster food to replenish the magic later… Least he has a few more candy bits in his pockets to hold him over for now.

 

The smell of iron was beginning to wash away as the heavy scent of rain began to get stronger. A rumbling of thunder could be heard overhead, the sound always brought back some memories from the Underground that he was still getting used to after all these years. Papyrus felt a soft chill in the air before it began to pour down rain.

 

That was when Sans emerged from the path Papyrus took to get to the scene himself, fixing his General hat on his head to shield his face from the rain. Giving a faint smile as his brother came closer, Papyrus stood and stretched a bit before popping a piece of candy into the void of his mouth, the magic already spreading as he crunched down on it, giving him a bit of energy from the drainage he forced out to the men.

 

One more to heal, then his job could be easy again.

 

“allright, Darlin’. let’s get y-...” Papyrus stopped as he turned and saw that the female was no longer there.

 

...Oh-... **_Fuck._ **

 

“MUTT!” Sans tone held a threat, which had Papyrus quickly turning back as sweat dotted under his hood at his screw up. “EXPLAIN YOURSELF! I SAID TO KEEP SUSPECTS _ALIVE!_ WHY IS THERE A HUMAN HERE OPPOSITE OF THE ORDER I HAD GIVEN YOU?” Sans growled as he studied the humans, his claws resting behind his back as his scowl deepened when he focused on the one shot in the chest.

 

“w-wait-... no, it-... was a gal, m’Lord.” Papyrus tried, looking back at the spot, seeing the trail of blood traveling into the woods.

 

“A FEMALE? _REALLY?_ ” Sans flat expression made Papyrus wish he could facepalm. He should have pulled out his phone earlier! “BY THE TERM YOU WENT, YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE A _HUMAN_ FEMALE WENT AND DONE ALL THIS? THE MOST THEY COULD DO IS NOT AS SEVERE AS I SEE. AND THAT'S _AFTER_ YOU HAD HEALED THEM.” Sans rubbed the side of his temples as a low growl continued to rumble, his fangs in a disapproving grimace at the scene before him.

 

“m’Lord… y’know i ain’t this tactless wit’ m’prey.” Papyrus tried to ease his brother, shoving his hands in his jacket.

 

“NO, YOU HAVE GOTTEN SLOPPY OVER THE PAST FEW _MONTHS_ , MUTT.” Sans snapped, making Papyrus wince. “TELL ME, YOU’VE BEEN SMOKING ON THE JOB AGAIN, HAVEN’T YOU? I CAN SMELL IT EVEN AS IT POURS DOWN AS IF WE WERE BACK IN WATERFALL.” Sans crossed his arms now, his face converted to pure anger.

 

“...well… i ain’t gunna be blowin’ _smoke_ up yer ass, m’Lord.” Papyrus grunted out, looking to the side from his brothers excruciating glare.

 

“PAPYRUS.” Sans tone became colder with the use of his actual name. “YOU ARE THE QUEENS _WATCHDOG!_ NOT SOME INEXPERIENCE MONSTER IN TRAINING OR BETTER YET, A _BABYBONES!_ DO NOT ACT LIKE ONE NOW WHEN THE TIME IS DIRE.” Sans seethed, his magic making the rain around them feel more like ice cutting through Papyrus’ jacket.

 

Papyrus kept quiet, not wanting to admit that his brother was right. He kept his eyelights on the spot instead, watching the blood slowly fade out the heavier the rain got.

 

“BY TORIEL'S NAME, I SWEAR… YOU WILL BE THE DUST OF ME.” He could hear Sans grunt with annoyance before he talked once more. “THIS _‘HUMAN FEMALE’_ IS MAKING YOU LOOK LIKE A FOOL MORE THAN YOU ALREADY ARE! PRAYTELL, WHERE _IS_ THIS HUMAN AND THEIR DANGEROUS INTENT AT? CLEARLY IF A HUMAN CAN DO THIS MUCH DAMAGE, THEY SHOULD BE RADIATING WITH THAT STILL, MAKING IT EASY TO LOCATE THEIR PRESENCES! WANT TO TELL ME _WHY_ THEY WERE NOT IN YOUR SIGHT AT ALL TIMES?”

 

…. _Shit._

 

“...n-...not really…” Papyrus closed his eyes, tilting his head down to the side.

 

He thought-... The girl was just too shaken and too pained up to move. Even if she had ate the candy, it would have only healed her wounds enough to stop the bleeding- Nothing more! So the fact she managed to actually sneak the fuck away from _Papyrus,_ the one who _hears_ everything, the _Watchdog_ who can _sense_ everyone-...

 

He was quick to think it was something to due with _her_ and not the fact that-... He _might_ have done a huge mistake on his part for believing she would just stay there.

 

Sans was quiet, the air thick with the cold that only intensified with his annoyance coming from the shared link in their metals and magic. The sound of heavy rain pattered on Sans leather and Papyrus’ jacket, making it the only noise between the two with occasional boots splashing within the quickly moistening ground.

 

“...GO FETCH THE FEMALE BEFORE THE SCENT OF BLOOD IS COMPLETELY WASHED OUT, YOU IDIOT.” Sans growled after a while, his back turned as he lifted one male over his shoulders as he gathered the others in his magic with ease. “IF IT IS TRUE THAT SHE HAD KILLED THIS HUMAN, SHE WILL BE USEFUL TO US. GET HER HEALED AND BRING HER TO ME IMMEDIATELY, BUT IF YOU ARE LYING OR FAIL TO DO SO… WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, CORRECT?” Sans eyes flashed dangerously back to Papyrus.

 

He’s really fucked up if Sans is going so far to threaten with _that_ … And really? Papyrus would do the same, he knew better than to turn his back on an injured creature… Fuck, if he doesn’t return with her?! That means-

 

Papyrus gulped. His bones tensing up as he straightened, his hoods fluff getting drenched in the heavy downpour of the rain, hiding his surprised eyes as sweat increased under his hood as he stared at his brothers narrowing sockets and his grimace turning into a devious smile so _evil_ as he watched Papyrus realize the dire situation.

 

...

 

_No Muffets for a month._

 

“AND NO SMOKING, EITHER! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT EVEN NEAR YOUR SOUL IF YOU SO MUCH AS TRY TO SNEAK IT INTO THE HOUSE, MUTT! I DON’T CARE _HOW_ MUCH IT HELPS SOOTHE YOUR NERVES!” Sans growled out one last warning before he was walking with all four of the men somehow piled on his shoulders. “THIS IS THE LAST STRAW IF YOU FAIL, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

 

Well, thats something Papyrus _definitely_ couldn’t allow, dammit!

 

“u-uh-... y-yes, m’Lord.” He stuttered out.

 

“GOOD. NOW GET GOING BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND AND CONSIDER SOMETHING MORE ROTTEN FOR YOU AS PUNISHMENT!” Sans stormed off with the men in tow.

 

Papyrus was quick to turn on his own heels and traveled to the trail of blood that was already halfway gone. Quickening his steps, he followed the scent with ease. Felt himself rumble with a growl, getting annoyed as he continued onward within the woods.

 

Wonderful… Broads already getting a strike for getting his ass in trouble. Why the hell couldn’t she have just stayed like the good little doll she was and wait for him?! Stars above...

 

“when i get m’claws on ya-…” He didn’t know really what he was going to do when he had the female… Clearly he’s lost his patiences eons ago. Most likely, he’ll just grab and drag her back with him if he so needed to. Maybe try and get her to squeak-…

 

...Wait, was that another human body?

 

Papyrus’ sockets narrowed as he now followed a trail of mens dead bodies, their clothing saying they were either some type of bandits or gang members. Eerily some were ragdolled in ways one could only find it in games he’s played. There was more body parts tossed around, some already crawling with bugs and maggots within the flesh, annoying flies buzzing everywhere.

 

Was this what the men were talking about earlier?... How Alan had called her ‘A Demon’? Surely a LV 6 human couldn’t do this much damage, maybe able to kill easily with how Papyrus saw her move… But even then, she didn’t-... Show any signs of ragdolling them like these poor fucks.

 

Taking a quick glance to one remains in particular... No human could rip someone so effortlessly like the poor bastard who was cut right in half through his torso like he was just a slab of cheese. Papyrus took a moment to study the fatal injury; Large claw marks, huge fang indents, the poor souls face staying warped in horror and terror-... Well, with what little face he had left anyways. A few limbs were removed as if someone was bored playing with their doll and decided that ripping them off would entertain them more.

 

Clearly it was not human who did this whole ordeal, had to have been some sort of high LV Monster… Papyrus couldn’t deal this much damage, even if he was a higher one himself. Talking probably over LV 40 trouble here, truth be told. But who else besides the Queen was over that amount?

 

Something dangling from up top caught Papyrus’ attention, the movement making his bones ready for a fight. Looking up, there were body parts hanging-...

 

Oh… Well, that was-…

 

So _that's_ what actual intestines looked like? Huh… Movies don’t do it justice, then.

 

Papyrus felt his hands twitch, bones on high alert as he kept his focus forward. Taking a deep breath to settle himself, he continued on maybe a bit faster than needed. He’ll take pictures when-... He gets the girl first. Right, her HP is low, she’s pretty much going to over exert herself or be almost dead by now. Right right… He needs to find the suspect. Thankfully the rain helped ease some of the now overwhelming scent of the iron trail and another scent so disgusting, he couldn’t pinpoint it. The hell he was walking to willingly will no doubt be a scene where Sans and his comrades will have to scout later on.

 

...Fuck, humans were fucking disturbing when their remains were left, though. Here Papyrus thought dust was bad? Fuck, these guys-... Just holy _shit._ They always had to one up monsters, didn’t they?

 

By the time Papyrus actually made it through the hell, he ended up at a small-... No. A large cabin? Larger than for any humans. He strolled to take a closer look at the nice sized home. Clearly custom built, looked well lived in and taken cared of as there were some nice golden flowers in the front, some on the windowsill… Hell, there was even a nice flower garden he could just barely see coming from the back. Papyrus began to stroll right on by, hoping to-... Ease his Soul without the need of a smoke right now, especially if he’ll be seeing his brother shortly again.

 

As he walked to the back, the scent of dust and blood began to overpower the scent of the rain as he kept getting closer. On the side of the cabin, hand imprints looked as if they were holding onto the corner before being dragged right off and away. Seemed to disappear and continue on to the back of the cabin.

 

That's when Papyrus froze in his tracks.

 

His eye sockets widened just a fraction as he saw one human pinned in their chest and a large splatter of blood covering more than half the wall where their head should have been in the back of the house.

 

Well, that’s fucking _lovely_ to see.

 

Goddammit, what the _fuck_ happened here? Couldn’t have been a turf war, too many human bodies, not enough dust… No, something wasn’t right as whatever pinned the human to the cabin had something sticking out. It was pure black and something about it-... Gave Papyrus a need to touch it. It was as if he knew what it was, but even through all the resets, never once had he-

 

That was went a rustle of movement caused Papyrus to flinch, swirling his head to the noise. When he couldn’t see what made the rustling, he waited until he heard it once more. When it did indeed come again, it sounded like it was coming from the front. Following suit, he backtracked his steps and looked around the corner to the front of the house.

 

Much to his surprise, it was the female as she stood by the wall with her hand gently resting against the wood, her glare piercing Papyrus with those emotionless eyes of hers. He took notice that her eyes were almost glazed over now, not as bright as they were earlier. As his bones relaxed somewhat, he began to put his hands in his pockets to fully face her.

 

“...ey, lil’ Kitten… there ya are.” Papyrus began, trying to summon all his might to remain calm. He didn’t like how she was looking all spooky-like, he’d much prefer having that rage from earlier on him instead of that dead glaring. “...s’whats goin’ on, eh?... ya jus’ gunna stare at me? or ya gunna lead me t’th’front n’ play?” Papyrus began to walk once more, forcing his legs to move.

 

When her mouth opened in a way that Papyrus was sure spiders or some type of disgusting bugs were going to crawl out of, he stopped in his tracks. His bones tensed as if she would spit insects out as some attacks, only to narrow his eyes when her lips moved as if she asked something instead.

 

“...sorri’, say again, Darlin’?” Papyrus asked, lowering his hand down he didn’t realize he had up, tilting his head just a bit to hear her.

 

“...State… your business… Sir.” Barely audible, Papyrus finally heard the question over the rain in a voice so unused, it put his own to shame.

 

So rough for a female… Now that stupid thoughts were going away, the smell of rotting flesh began to coil around the area, not fresh like he thought earlier. The rain was a Star sent, helping with the rotting corpses stench being tolerable. That just makes Papyrus think…

 

How long was she out here for? Was she alone?... Were some of these humans her family? Would explain why she’d be in such a state then… Papyrus should know.

 

He felt a ping of empathy for her hit his Soul.

 

“only here ta help ya, Kitten. remember?...” Papyrus tried to shrink a bit on himself, a technique used to seem as less intimidating as possible. “lets head ta th’front n’ see wha’ i can do, hm?... sure yer in a skele- _ton_ of pain.” Keeping his hands in his jackets pockets, he watched the females face began to form into something more-...

 

Thoughtful? Was she coming out of her shock, finally? Attaning LV was a bitch, a high gained in the lower stats and could easily be addictive if one wasn’t careful… With her taking a life earlier, it would also explain why she acted so oddly.

 

“Yes…” She said in a toneless and guttural voice, breaking his thought process. “Please-... Come in-... Side…”

 

Papyrus perked his bone brow up in question. Well, count monsters out for killing her-... He shouldn’t assume these were her family or friends. He needs to be neutral, but it was beginning to get hard to do so for some reason. Had to have been humans who came and ruined her little paradise she had here, would also easily explain why she attacked the men from before.

 

On one hand, this might be a trick. Trying to lead him in and kill him, perhaps. There is the scent of dust lingering around the flowers, after all. Maybe she’s actually someone who worked for the ones currently laying everywhere? It doesn’t make sense though with her wardrobe… Or the pure fact she attacked other humans. 

 

Whatever it was, even if all this would be a trick, he’d be glad to get out of this fucking whether himself. It would be better to heal her wounds on the inside and away from the rain, too. And away from the damn fowl scent surrounding him.

 

Papyrus followed the woman to the front of the home quietly. It would have been hilarious how she looked so much smaller by the door, but how she kept it open and her pose in doing so told that she was taught by someone who knew the old ways of manners, making Papyrus a bit nervous… She opened it up and stood by the large door, motioning Papyrus to enter first, back to her emotionless expression.

 

The place was tall enough that he didn’t have to bend or stoop to get in, which he appreciated as he marveled at the ceiling as he walked passed. Taking his drenched hood down, he took in the royal red attire with warm colors making it pop out in a welcoming way, hints of black and grey lined the other places where it would be bare otherwise. The wood was well loved in crafting everywhere he looked at; From the ceiling high above his own head, to the walls, floors, and even to the doors which held two other rooms. They were seperated with a large carved symbol in the middle of the wall between them which matched the female’s clothing on her chest. One door was as large as the front door, while the other seemed more fit for a human. There was a stone fireplace in the middle of what could only be described as a mixture of both livingroom and kitchen set up as pots and pans hung over it low for easy access for the female. A large sitting chair in front of the fire place with a small table wrapped up one part of the living room, along with another simple wooden chair more accustomed for the female. The other side was the kitchen, holding a table with matching chairs that looks so sturdy, one would think Sans and Alphy could wrestle on or with it and it wouldn’t so much as splinter.

 

Turning back to focus on the female, she had moved to the fireplace and had already lit a flame within, making the house warmer already. Papyrus watched her silently, seeing that her wounds had healed up and closed as she wasn’t tracking any blood anymore. At least she took the candy he offered, that'd help in the long run.

 

But the fact she was still moving like she wasn't just shot multiple times or moving as if she wasn't sore from it all made Papyrus silently question how.

 

She put a kettle over the flames the next he realized, only to go bring something out from a shelf in the kitchen area. When she began to set the table, it looked like she was preparing some sort of tea. That's when Papyrus' fangs turned upward in a smile.

 

“aw, ya givin’ me the royal treatment, Darlin’?” Papyrus purred, brushing the water off his jacket. “heh, ain’t ya a sweet lil’ thin’? don’ think we got enough time fer it, truth be told. ‘sides, stuff goes right throu’ me, heh.” He walked closer to the fireplace, allowing the oddly comforting flame to heat his clothing and cold bones up. He could practically feel the flames dry everything the closer he got.

 

“… Magic… Tea...” Her voice croaked out, making Papyrus blink.

 

Magic? Was she preparing tea with _Magic?_...

 

“well... ain’t tha’ mighty curious… tell me, how ya know ta do tha’, mm?” Papyrus watched her more intently now as she worked to make everything separate.

 

“Father.” Was her simple answer as she continued to place sugar down, honey, spoons, and clearly waited for Papyrus to keep his glare on her as she did this.

 

Father?... Was her father a Mage? After all this time, Mages were suppose to be gone-

 

...Wait… He knows that type of gesture… Was she-...

 

“... ya separating everythin’, Darlin’.” Papyrus began to stroll over.

 

“wouldn’t it be bettah if-”

“... This… Ensures trust… Correct?”

 

Papyrus’ Soul twitch to that. A sense of blooming realization was dawning on him as he continued to study her. The way she moved, even with a void expression, was speaking every ounce of Royalty one would find around the Queen from before-... No, no. Mages acted similar from the stories his father would tell. 

 

Right… It has become rare that people would willingly act like this. The humans world had become somewhat relaxed with their mannerisms, something like this was only seen in homes who had more wealth or in animes Undyne would force everyone to watch with her some nights when she was feeling social.

 

But for her to know how to deal with a new Monster to gain Trust? There was even stuff online or in newspapers she could have easily grabbed to read up on about the Monsters habits, this being one of them. If you offer anything of food or tea to a new Monster, make sure they watch you closely or at least have everything separate, then take the first of everything so they can make sure nothing was poisoned before they parktake.

 

“allright... yah, _trust._ ” Papyrus finally spoke, going to the table as the female pulled a chair out for him. His Soul wanted to twist and coil around with his other thoughts, but he kept a nice smile on his fangs, taking the seat. 

 

“thank ya, Darlin’... ya really know how ta treat a guy.” He purred, leaning towards her.

 

When the female was about to walk away, he gently hooked his hand around her stomach and pulled her soaked self into him, surprised most of the blood has washed off as he had her stand between his legs, trapping her there as his claws locked behind the lower part of her back with ease. Papyrus looked into her eyes, which had yet been cleared up but they weren’t as glossed over as before.

 

“so... while we have some tea, i’ll take a look at yer wounds as a fair trade, yah?” He gave a soft chuckle, trailing a claw from her torn dress upward, teasingly pulling it with the movement but not enough to have it fully ride up with his gentle caress. “ya mind strippin’ fer me, Darlin’? won’ take m’long...” Papyrus made sure to give her a squeeze around her lower back, tilting her chin upward softly with the claw of his phalange to stare right back at his sockets, waiting for her eyes to light up.

 

Maybe she’d look more alive having a bit of blush?...

 

“After." She said instead, her face not changing. "You have-… Low… Magic.”

 

“...how can y’tell, Kitten?...” Papyrus said with a small warning growl, taking a hand and slowly rolling it up her body as he gives a few tears on her already ruined clothing, keeping his growl low yet trying to entice a squeak from her as he leans closer to her face. “i got tons o’stamina ya don’ know of... want m’ta show ya?”

 

Instead of the reaction Papyrus wanted, he was shocked when the female gently grabbed his hand and put it on his lap with ease.

 

“Readings… I can sense. Please… After.” She said, untangling herself from his claws easily.

 

Papyrus leaned back in the chair as he allowed her to fetch the kettle before it whistled, crossing an ankle over on his knee while he puts an arm behind the chair, the other hand staying still on his lap where she placed it. Papyrus’ head tilted to the side a bit, his fingers twitching as he gently tapped the wood on his chair. Clearly she’s had practice with claws, at least she moved in a way that told him so.

 

If the fact she knew how to prepare magic tea wasn't enough to convince him of a Mage heritage, that sentence was proof enough. Only those who can read magic outputs were sensitive to it by being around it for all their lives. But even by just holding her close just then, Papyrus couldn't read a single thing from her like she could from him... Hell, earlier she gave no readings of such a thing. Would it be possible that she was a Mage, but somehow hid her readings just due to Monsters reactions if they would find one? Might explain why her actions earlier were so fast and not having a single reaction to the pain thats traveling her body right now... Also why she was able to move around still. Determination was a pure bitch trait, stubborn too. 

 

 

Then another thought came to mind; What if she _did_ kill everyone here?... Was she the one who was making his bones tense with that unsettling danger looming?... Yes, a Monster could tear anyone or thing apart with their claws if strong enough, but he’s heard of Mages being so strong, they could have similar actions with enough intent and depending on their powers ability. If it was true she was a Mage, she might have been able to cause that damage he saw coming here. With how she attacked earlier-...

 

No, that show of strength exempts her _exactly_ from that thought. She didn’t _use_ magic, not once did Papyrus feel the surge of anything besides pure intent… And with a Determination Soul? That shit is dangerous enough as it is, Mage or not… Hell, she probably wouldn't have been in that mess if she did have magic.

 

Papyrus was just overthinking like normal, she might just be a regular human who was taken under the wing of a Mage or something along those lines. 

 

Papyrus glared over to one part of the wall where that dead human laid pinned on the opposite side. His bones swirled with a sense of danger, slowly growing heavier as he narrowed his eyes from the blood soaking into the wood from the hole. Yet, no matter how much he tried to smell for the iron, it seems the whole home was surrounded in a soft scent of scones, pancakes, and floral of some kind. It gave his nasal cavity a break for sure, but...

 

…

 

Yeah, as soon as he can… He’ll grab her and take her back to Sans. The magic within the tea will help him use up a bit more magic to heal her and then take a shortcut. Maybe it’ll help her voice, too… It really sounds painful for her, truthfully. But he also felt-... Kind of similar if her family died right in front of her. Doesn’t look like anyones been in here besides her for a while, anyways. The feeling of being alone after a loved one passed was still-... Very fresh to his Soul. Yeah, he can empathise a bit with her… The room and her didn’t smell of another Monster or human as he breathed in deeper.

 

Papyrus blinked, stopping himself from his sudden thought. No. The fuck was he thinking? He needs a smoke, that's exactly what he fucking needed… He’ll heal her himself, she seems to have information that his brother could gain from, clearly… And maybe when she gets feeling better and Sans is done questioning her, he can really have that voice break for him…

 

...If he can fucking get her to react just a bit, _damn._

 

Glancing to the female, she sat and took a sip from her tea. Following suit, he made himself a quick cup, the intent of something foreign coming from a few of the yellow flower packets, which he could tell were home made.

 

“Care.” The female voiced, answering Papyrus’ silent question. “Intent is… Care.”

 

He wanted to suddenly bark a laugh, how the fuck… “care?... really, Kitten… ya take a strange monsta home, ‘n yer intent is-... _care?_ ” He asked unbelieved, a half smirk crossing his fangs as he lifted his cup to his fangs and took a quick sip, glaring at her.

 

...Okay, this was some damn good tea. It was soothing his Soul, relaxing him in a small sense of both alert and ease, something he only gets once he smokes about 5 of his cigarettes. But even then, it wasn’t as alert as this tea was making him.

 

“Better than… Misleading.” She croaked with her eyes down at her cup, but the more she was using her voice, the more Papyrus could hear the difference.

 

“hm... true ‘nough, Kitten.” Papyrus chuckled at being caught, leaning his arm on the table as he watched her more closely. “so... wha’ type o’tea is this, exactly?...”

 

“Golden Buttercups.” She said with a quiet voice, a somber expression breaking her facial features for a few moments before going right back to that emotionless one.

 

“mmm... s’good.” Papyrus felt the familiar magic barely travel down and disappearing, replenishing his energy more than the candy ever had done for him. “so, i take it tha’ yer house ain’t always so spooky and ready fer halloween, hm?” Might as well question her.

 

“Halloween…?” She echoed questionably.

 

“eh, ain’t nuthin’ important right now. mind fillin’ me in why ya got dead bodies in th’woods?”

 

That took her a moment, Papyrus watched as her eyes were beginning to come around now, slowly but surely.

 

“We-... Were attacked… By two different species…” She took another sip of her cup before finishing it off and setting it aside.

 

“two different species, _ya don’ say_ …” He put his chin in his hand, his elbow on the table as he placed his own cup down near hers, staring at her with a bored expression. “lemme guess… humans n’ monstas? like ya n’ m’self?”

 

The way her eyes shot up to him made him second guess himself. When her face wasn’t shifting-... That danger he was feeling began to pile up higher in his bones. Yet, doesn’t seem she was much to hurry to talk either.

 

Papyrus knows information when he senses it, that he was more happy about.

 

“ah-... ah, i get it.” Papyrus began to stand, making the chair screech in protest. “no more talkin’ fer ya, Alley cat… pain n’ all tha’ mess.” He quickly disappeared, only to reappear behind her. Putting his hands on her shoulders to keep her seated, Papyrus felt her tense shoulders as his grin grew devious.

 

“now, now… don’ ya tense, Darlin’…” Papyrus gave her shoulders a nice squeeze, leaning down and putting his fangs right next to her ear. “not gunna hurt’cha, only gunna heal, y’know?... relax… i’ll make ya feel brand new…” He purred low.

 

Papyrus rubbed and massaged her shoulders, keeping his eyelights trained on her face as he tried to gauge her reaction as he began to allow healing magic to travel through his bones and through her. She made no protest or movement in response to when he began to huff a soft breath of air against her ear and down her turtleneck, making his grin falter. She was neither relaxing or tensing up at the touch or little innuendos he was passing her.

 

The woman sat unmoving the more he tried to dig into her with his claws, at least _trying_ to watch his strength despite getting a bit irritated. No noises of relief or signs of pain… Seriously, is he losing his touch with women or was she just immune to all pain or feelings in general?

 

Well, whatever it was… Maybe he shouldn’t be screwing around too much longer. Sans is probably more pissed at him for taking this damn long. Papyrus rolled his eye lights, sighing to himself. His intent was coming off a bit strong, anyways…

 

Papyrus narrowed his eyes as he slowly stood up straight, trying to think a bit more-... _Positively._ Deciding on something a bit funny, he thought more about if she was some sort of little injured baby animal. He couldn’t help a little chuckle at that thought, even if that made him smile a bit too weird for his tastes… She’s more of a bloody dangerous _cougar_ if he could say the least from the fighting she showed earlier.

 

...Eh, he could still handle her.

 

Papyrus noted how her hair and clothing dried quickly, even his had dried just as fast. What he was not expecting however, was that one of his claws got stuck in her turtleneck sweater, much to his annoyance. He tried to pull it away with a quiet curse, but his thumb hit something on her neck, making a soft clicking noise. With his curiosity peaked from the cool metal, he dug his thumb a bit more as he traced the odd item…

 

Ah, was she wearing a necklace? Felt round yet dainty, was pretty thick against her neck as he dragged his thumb deeper in the fabric to trace it more, watching his claws as it brushed against her skin just barely. She didn’t seem to mind, so he continued to go as far as slide her turtleneck sweater down with another finger just ever so lightly to take a peek.

 

Wait… A Choker collar? Well, that’s sending a bit of a sly smile to his fangs.

 

“heh... nice collar ya got.” Papyrus chuckled as his thumb brushed along the back, noticing the item wasn’t fully attached. “didn’ think of ya as th’frisky type, Kitten. s’perty cool… like ya n’ i r’a pair.” He purred as his claws brought the necklace up slightly against her neck and more out from the turtleneck sweater, able to get a better glance.

 

Seemed pretty important by what he can see. Custom made, smooth to the touch, and the underside had a certain texture he wasn’t familiar with. Felt soft, though. It looked as if there was a Soul on the back of it where it normally would connect together, making it look like a broken Soul. Looks to be one of those magnetic type that clicks in the back, actually. She probably put it on in a hurry and had it upside down, humans enjoyed the look of Souls, or ‘Hearts’… A slight ping of remembrance forced its way to Papyrus’ mind, but he quickly tossed that to the side. No way that would happen, it’s been years.

 

Their all gone, he and Sans made sure of that.

 

She didn’t say anything, but Papyrus finally got some type of reaction. To his pleasure, she pulled it out from his grasp and put it back into hiding against her neck. He still couldn’t feel if it was due to embarrassment or if it meant anything special to her… Well, if it does have meaning, Papyrus would just _hate_ for the gal to get all teary eyed over the missing object if it so happens to fall… Especially with how she’s protecting it now with her hand.

 

“aw... bu’ Kitten… it’s loose in th’back… let me fix tha’ since m’already here, huh?” Papyrus couldn’t hold his teasing tone, softly brushing her hand away and he grabbed it once more.

 

His fangs went into a large and playful smile as she yet again kept his hands away, was a cute attempt when she tried to stand. Papyrus only kept her seating with gentle force, she was almost done healing anyways.

 

“y’ain’t done yet, Darlin’... i’ll leave it ‘lone.” He snickers a bit more as she kept her hands over the item. “... th’ metal is pretty nice, tho’… s’cool to th’touch despite it bein’ against ya skin n’ all. where’d’ya get such a thing, Kitten?” He cooed softly, the rest of his magic buzzing out and through her skin as he tried to go and rehook it without her knowing.

 

Not an answer, as predicted. Papyrus finished his healing and _‘accidentally’_ nudged the metals parts together to get it to clip. As it did so, he smiled coyly as he began to tilt his torso to the side to smile smugly at her, opening his mouth wide to joke-

 

Only for the female to have gone limp.

 

Papyrus’ bone brows furrowed in question. Had he poured too much healing magic into her? It does have a calming effect to the point people might pass out like this. Well, whatever it was, he shrugged his shoulders and scooped her up in his arms.

 

Taking a shortcut to his brother, he didn’t notice the _‘Upside down Heart’_ in the back of the collar glow with his burnt orange magic as it was hidden by the thick turtleneck sweater.

  
Papyrus didn’t realize he had accidentally collared **_You._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHH, Gooodness! Thank you everyone who has commented and already given so many kudos and bookmarked the story!!  
> I'm enjoying writing this story so much; And I hope you all enjoy how it's going!
> 
> I won't apologise for the gore or anything; I figured out that if I enjoy horror situations, that I should try and write about it with the brothers who deal with tons of death to begin with! 
> 
> If anyone has questions or concerns and don't want to try and be spoiled on here, feel free to poke me over at my [Tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/maiuoart)  
> I'll also be uploading my versions of Swapfell brothers; Their HC's, Pictures, and other things with occasional other AU brothers.
> 
> I hope you all continue to enjoy and Stay Awesome! ♥


	3. Reawoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, waking up from that nasty dream!  
> Maybe today you and everyone can have a fun day, do activities to get your mind off that horrible night terror you had...
> 
> ...
> 
> Wait, what do you mean it wasn't a dream?! That this is reality now!?
> 
> What happens now!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!Warning for this chapter;!!!!  
>  _Description of Suicide, 'Last Options', and Gun usage._  
> 

Your body felt heavy as if something was keeping you in place. Sleep was calling as you begrudgingly forced yourself to move into a better position to go back to it, hoping that whatever you dreamt of was just-... Some _horrible_ nightmare.

 

Any moment now, you would wake up. Wake up in the comforts of your own room. Maybe one of Fathers blankets was resting on top of you in the living room? It always did have a heavy affect on your body. A fond smile formed on your lips at the thought. Father would be his calm self, peaceful after emerging from Mount Ebott… Greeting you with that warm smile he enjoyed to show since the seeing the sun for the first time after so long. Then start your day with him to make breakfast, tend to the garden, spar with the other smaller monsters and help them gain more speed and agility since they weren’t made for strength. Do daily chores and your peaceful life would return to you, helping ease this unsettling emotion you gained from the unrestful sleep you’ve had.

 

No, your body felt-... Cold. Damp, fresh air with a chill in the air surrounding your sense of smell to the point goosebumps could be felt without touching them form on your arms. You squirmed just a bit more, finding yourself in a patch of grass as the scent of moist earth followed suit. Trying to pull your one hand up to rub your sore throat, something around your wrists halting your movements with some sort of metal as it clanks and rings out.

 

Chains, perhaps?... Yes, another movement to verify that, indeed, was chains.

 

...Your heart sank when you realised that your collar has tightened around your neck.

 

“I SEE YOU HAVE FINALLY AWOKEN, HUMAN.” Almost a shrill yet gravel and loud voice said close around you, making your senses go high on alert.

 

Eyes shooting open, you were graced with a sight of a skull with navy blue lights staring right into your own. Opened your mouth for a scream, but held it back as you clenched your teeth instead. Your skin bristled at the sudden invasion of magic filling the air- As if it was still raining, but nothing was coming down. The chill became thicker the more you glared at the monster, trying not to allow your panic to show.

 

One rule of your many years of training; _Never Show Fear._

 

“SIT UP, I REFUSE TO TALK TO A LOG!” When was the creature kneeling?

 

Scratch that, why were you on the ground in the first place?!

 

...No, better yet-… What was the last thing you could remember?...

 

Your face immediately fell into an emotionless expression as you forced that away fast from your mind. It would be best to think about it later on, when you were alone. Thank the Stars and Heavens you were able to force emotions down quickly.

 

“DID I STUTTER? SIT UP AT ONCE!” The creature barked, making you cut your mindset short from wherever it was just going.

 

Without so much as flinching, you did as the creature ordered. With your back straightening up, your legs curling under you as you sat on top of them, and your eyes back to the monster in question, it seems you were in the mists of a Skeleton monster who wore that of a military uniform that had a large overcoat. You’ve never seen other monsters outside of the ruins before, so a skeleton type did come to a shock... 

 

With your full attention back, they straightened up with their hands clasped behind, navy blue lights staring down at you with a type of glare you couldn’t quite read. Perhaps studying you?

 

“I AM PLEASED THAT YOU WILL NOT CONTINUE TO MAKE ME WAIT, UNLIKE THE OTHERS.” The Skull began to speak, showing razor sharp teeth in the process. You paid it no mind as you kept eye contact. “YOUR SPECIES ARE VERY TIRESOME, YOU KNOW? WEAK, FOOLISH, AND EXTREMELY USELESS.” Sounded like the monster wanted to insult you, but instead you were taught to agree with that logic from a young age.

 

Glancing behind him only for a moment, you wish you didn’t as your rage began to fill you up once more, almost as fierce as before. Felt your skin bristle and for a moment your hands clenched hard and tight as you saw the one from before your black out laying with his own hands cuffed in front of his chest as he laid motionless.

 

Down in the pits of your Soul, you wished he was dead the most.  

 

“...WHAT? ARE YOU MAD THAT I HAVE YOUR COMRADES TIED UP AND USELESS? ARE YOU UPSET THAT NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU NOW?” The monsters voice was beginning to go borderline mocking as your eyes flickered right back to his eye lights; Which flashed almost a purple hue.

 

A soft growl escaped your own chest, only to peer back down at the human man with rage in your eyes. Fat chance those things were your comrades of anything… Finish them off, finish them all off was what you wanted the most right now. If you just weren’t in these damn chains-

 

“IF I HAD NOT WANTED YOU FOR MY OWN MEANS, KNOW THAT YOU, ALONG WITH THE HUMANS BEHIND ME, WOULD NOT HAVE WOKEN UP AT ALL!” The creature said, gaining your attention right back on their now navy blue lights that lost their purple hue, narrowing their sockets at you with a smug expression.

 

You stared, jaw clenched so tight you thought you could hear them squeak and crack under the pressure. Sounded like this creature wanted _Pets?_

 

The creature confirmed your fears when their smile turned deadly, their eyelights quickly going to your neck and back to your face.

 

Were they the ones who found and collared you?! You were always quick in your training to avoid anyone to latch it successfully; Everyone had a chance to try, yet no one was good enough to do so. It always hung on your neck loosely like a tease, to see if anyone was fast to gain something like you. A game it turned into, even though it irked you before, it helped keep your mind clear that no one was allowed to control you who wasn’t worthy. It was a constant reminder to you and everyone around; _You were not a **Pet.**_

 

Because the one who would Collar you would gain a _Weapon_.

 

Did this creature think this collar was a normal Master collar? Must be by how they’re staring at you in such a way… 

 

Questions swarmed your mind of how, where, and why were you collared? Indeed, the last thing you saw was-... Something dangerous. Felt like your face was getting warm to the point you had to glance back at the human, trying to blink away what felt like tears threatening to come out of your eyes like an overflow of acid wanting to escape.

 

But as soon as your sights rested back on the humans, all that disappeared instantly. Sorrow and fear was quickly replaced by _Hate_ and _Wrath._

 

Rage you would swallow down over the years had reemerged with a force so fierce, you had-... Blacked out before watching your own Father finish dying in front of you, blocking everything and everyone out as your body took over. All you saw was red, all you cared for was revenge, all you wanted was death from the ones who came and infected everyone with those-... Those-... _Demonic creatures!_

 

Then this creature-… _This_ creature comes and starts talking about wanting you all for-... Well, what exactly? Does he really think he can take you on as a pet? Perhaps sell you off as one? Maybe for the others who now lay, wishing death for them. But any Pet has been told they could begin to like what happens to them.

 

They’ll be very mistaken if they think you’ll turn into something like that. Vulnerable, used and tossed only to be picked up and done over again and again for their amusement! Like to see them try, you'll give them such a shock...

 

However, the more you stared back into the beings dark blue eyes, the more realization hit that their magic was far different from the one around your neck. The magic reading was cold compared to your collars radiating heat in a certain area, it was almost unbearable to wear though this creatures magic was helping dulling it down. 

 

Whoever your _‘New Master’_ is now, apparently left you with someone they really trust or they somehow stole you away. They didn’t dust them, or else the collar wouldn’t be still latched together and magic coursing through it like an annoyingly warm flame kissing your neck with heat you were beginning to dislike. The anger filled your Soul almost to the brim now as you settled and sat there, glaring at the skeleton creature.

 

You won’t give up so easily, when you get a chance-

 

Whatever thought you had was broken by the creature’s own bristle with a warning of their own, the coldness radiating off them making you feel as if a bucket of ice water was poured onto your person. Holding back a shiver, you straightened yourself up and quick to remind yourself that you couldn’t fight against them physically, not yet. When you stopped your aggressive glaring and turned to opt for a small scowl, they seemed to have taken that with a smug smirk of their own, showing those sharp teeth off.

 

“YES, YES… YOU WILL FIND THAT ANYTHING YOU DO WILL BE USELESS AGAINST MYSELF.” The Skull waved off your anger putting his nose up with a scoff. “YOU MAY TRY TO ATTACK, BUT AS MERCIFUL AS I AM, I MUST WARN YOU NOT TO… OR ELSE YOU WILL PAY DEARLY. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, HUMAN?” They growled, their eyes locking back onto you with a threat and promise to make it so if you did.

 

However, you nodded easily. Not out of fear, more from respect, no matter what they plan for you after this. Knowing better than to mess with Monsters, your Father had told and taught you early on that you were not to harm them… You were made to protect them. Even though your Fathers plans had dissolved over the years, you and the others kept your training up; A quiet promise to yourself that you would be ready for just anything…

 

Except this, apparently.

 

“GOOD TO KNOW YOU’RE SUBMISSIVE… THIS WILL MAKE THINGS MUCH EASIER.” They said as they studied your person. “HOWEVER, OUT OF ALL THE QUESTIONS IN MY SKULL CURRENTLY… THERE IS ONE MAJOR FRACTION THAT I NEED TO KNOW.”

 

That's when they pointed at your neck with a deep scowl.

 

“THE _‘NECKLACE’_ YOU BARE…” Your eyes narrowed at the use of term. "I DEMAND THE-"

 

Whatever question he about asked was cut off by a sound of metal and a glock of a gun. Instincts rose as you quickly swirled your head to the side where an injured man stood by a tree, one you had not seen before but the clothing oddly similar to the ones who laid around behind the skeleton and those who attacked your home earlier.

 

You bristled immediately.

 

“You-!” The male said, pointing the gun at you. “Y-you-... Did it! You did it _all!_ ”

 

...What did you do?...

 

“Don’t act stupid, you fuckin’ idiot!” He barked at you when you furrowed your brows in quiet question. “You killed them! And-... I’m here ta make sure ya don’t kill any more!” His aim was wobbly, yet clearly he was aiming for you.

 

Even if his aim kept traveling to the monster, who took notice.

 

“YOU DARE PULL A WEAPON OUT IN FRONT OF THE GENERAL OF THE _ROYAL GUARD,_ HUMAN?” The creature in front of you said, his demeanor changing to that of boredom and exasperation as he barely turned to acknowledge the man. “PUT THE WEAPON DOWN OR BE FACED WITH THE CONSEQUENCES, FOOL.”

 

“I’d rather take-... My chance in hell, you _fuck!_ ” The man spat, before his aim became wobbly, his whole arm shaking with the weight of his pistol as the fear in his eyes locked onto you. “The more th’merrier! If I take ya both down-!”

 

“MY, THREATENING AS WELL? YOU CERTAINLY DO NOT KNOW YOUR PLACE...” The General had turned to face him with only half of his body turned, voice curt and cutting the male off abruptly. “I CAN GLADLY AND QUICKLY GRANT YOUR DEATH WISH IF YOU DO NOT LISTEN, IMBECILE. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING.”

 

“Y-ya dumb idiot! Are ya protectin' her?!" The male's voice went up a pitch, keeping the barrel of the gun in your direction as much as possible as his voice began to break. Probably of the magic the General was now forcing out, the human not understanding why he was suddenly so fearful. “T-that thing you have chained-! K-kill her! Kill her now before she kills you! She WILL kill you! O-or! Y’know? Better yet, jus’ lemme do it fer ya- you'll owe me a fuckin' favor-”

 

A bone came and smacked the gun upwards and out of the man's hands. A yelp came from him as the General began to calmly walk, his hands staying clasps behind his back.

 

“YES, YES... KILLINGS AND ALL THAT... HOWEVER, THE ONLY FAVOR I SHALL GRANT IS YOUR OWN LIFE SINCE YOU SEEM TO KNOW THIS ONE. SO A FAIR TRADE IS TO PUT YOU UNDER, WHAT YOU CREATURES CALL, _'ARREST'_ TO KEEP YOUR PITIFUL SOUL ALIVE.”

 

As the General spoke, something didn’t feel right. Your ears took your attention to the side, glancing to where the weapon landed. Your eyes widen as one of the males who was laying had woken up completely and began crawling his way to the weapon the General had knocked out of the other males hand.

 

Your eyes went back to a daze as a sickening smile began to form.

 

**_Now or Never._ **

 

“AS GENERAL OF THE ROYAL GUARD, YOU WILL BE TOSSED INTO OUR DUNGEON UNTIL-” He was cut off by another sound of gun fire, swirling his gazed back to the sound.

 

You had the male under your foot, the chains pinned to his chest as you ripped the gun away and aimed it right at him. You wore a new bullet wound as it tore through your left shoulder, making it hang loosely by your side but the pain was too much for you to register right at the moment.

 

Your smile was stretching, your Soul humming with the revenge it thirst for, _howling_ at you to pull the trigger.

 

**Do It** -... Pull It. This One Started It. Do it, do it, _do it, doit, doit_ **_doitdoitdoitdoit-..._**

 

Why are you hesitating now? Felt yourself gulp as the heat of your collar began to grow.

 

Do it! Just- _.... Just_ **_DO IT!_ **

 

“ ** _RESIST._** ” An order was told with the cold of magic freezing you to still.

 

You blinked.

 

“RESIST. PUT THE WEAPON DOWN, _CALMLY._ ” Another cold burst of magic made you want to whine out of the betrayal.

 

You were made for this, though! They didn’t understand…

 

They didn’t _u n d e r s t a n d_ …

 

“TRUST ME WHEN I SAY IT WOULD NOT BE WORTH IT.” The voice said, halting your thoughts. 

 

...The weapon shook now in your own hands.

 

It wouldn’t be worth it in the long run, but right now-... _Right here, right now_ … It would have been worth everything! Everything to make sure he couldn’t breathe! Whatever they were planning was too good for him! You were made to kill those who injure Monsters!

 

These humans did worse than just injure… It’s time to follow your Father’s teachings.

 

“My Orders…” You croaked, not realizing how horrible your voice had become, it was so misused yet raw.

 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN… ORDERS, HUMAN?” The General asked, an undertone of confusion hidden behind something similar to annoyance.

 

“...Orders-... To Kill Humans-... Who harm Monsters.” You finally finished, watching the males eyes widen as his fear fed you, stepping on his chest just a bit harder to hear him choke out a pitiful and weak shriek.

 

“WHO HAS ORDERED YOU?” The Generals voice was calm yet guarded, almost soothing as your eyes grew large, your smile twisting to deranged as your sight began to seep with red once more.

 

“My _Father_.” You quipped, squeezing the trigger-

 

“... halt.” A new voice stopped your movements immediately with your finger off the trigger, making you flinch at the command.

 

The collar began to feel as if it was burning around your neck now, where you wanted to reached up with and desperately try to claw it off behind the turtleneck you wore. You kept your aim, but your smile dropped to a large gritting snarl.

 

No way-... No way, you _don’t have one!_ No, that is _not_ your Master. You’d be damned-! The murkiness of their Soul was ringing out loud to you, making you bristle at the amount of confusion and annoyance radiating from them-

 

No-... No No NO NONONO- Do it! Just do it! Shoot him! Shoot the human! **_DO IT RIGHT NOW-_ **

 

“do as m’Lord said… back up while yer at it.” The command spiked through your link with a threat, forcing your hand to lower and giving in finally, stepping off the scared male as they shook with fear you desperately wanted to _feel_ leave his body once you had shot him.

 

Doing as told, you backed up until the collar was lower in heat ratings, a sign that said your Master was pleased with the distances.

 

You wanted to choke- _That shouldn’t be right!_

 

However, you didn’t put the gun down just yet.

 

Imagines of what will happen after this rang through your mind. All the horror stories of what _‘Pets’_ were, all the imagines your imagination ran wild with began to shoot into your minds eye, making you want to puke.

 

A thought appeared as you stared at the man with a low growl, only to finally tear your eyes off as you looked at the gun in your hand with disdain.

 

Your Soul thrummed with so much regret, remorse quickly swallowed your mind, sorrow pulsed through your veins, stinging your eyes once more as frustration began to bubble up within from it all.

 

Was all the years you spent with your Father, with the other monsters, all worth it in your training?...

 

You allowed them all-... You didn’t do a _damn_ thing! _You_ couldn’t save _ONE!_ _They_ were the ones who saved _YOU!_

 

**_Was it worth it?_ **

 

Then the thought of these Monsters wanting you as a pet? No-... No, you got caught so damn easily-... How?! Did they fight you? Did you prove to them you could handle them? Was the fight just nothing at all?! _Was there even a fight?!_ Heavens above…

 

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing would matter.

 

You’ve **_failed_ **.

 

Failed to the point that these monsters believe you’re a pet. Your Soul swirled with embarrassment, with so much confusion, fear began to control you as your hand shook harder. The coldness around you began to deepen, finally feeling the horrible chill bite and sting at your body.

 

But now?... With your old life behind you, surely you’ll just end up like those stories.

 

The gun was slick with rain, random blades of grass stuck to it, small specks of mud clung to it as the metal shined and winked up at you with promises-...

 

_Promises to take it all away..._

 

_Promises to let you sleep endlessly…_

 

_Promises to be reunited with those you cared for..._

 

...It would-… Be _Easy._ **_Quick_** -... Would it be painless? Surely with a gun to a certain part of the human body… It would be, then you wouldn’t have to be scared, wouldn’t allow yourself to be forced being a slave… You were one, yes, but only in the sense of Protection.

 

Protection-... _You Failed At._

 

_Now will forever continue to fail at._

 

_Worthless… What kind of weapon thinks? What kind of weapon freezes? What kind of weapon is overcome by their stupid emotions and doesn’t do their jobs?!_

 

**_Useless Ones._ **

 

_End it. End it. Do it before-_

 

Large boney hands came and cupped the gun from your hand, gently taking the weapon away from your overly shaking grip. You had to bite the bottom of your lip to keep yourself from causing a scene now, your physical heart giving a hard pulse of dismay, the pain in your shoulder finally coming through to help gain your attention away from your mindset. Keeping your head downcast, you only stood there.

 

_Too Late,_ **_Coward._ **

 

“...atta gal.” Your new Master's voice rang, a pleased hint coming through the collar, soothing you somewhat of the praise yet making your stomach sick. “c’mon... y’don’ gotta worry none. s’allright.” He soothed, a large hand coming and-...

 

...It awkwardly felt good… A large hand almost covering your whole head, sending a similar feeling down as it gently gave a pat and rub in a means to _‘calm’_ you down.

 

Staying quiet, you wanted to laugh and sob at the same time.

 

It only pained you more at what felt like a long memory of your Father doing exactly that when you did a good job in training…

 

Now? It’s completely opposite… Failed to _protect_ , failed to _kill_ , and failed to even know _who_ your Master was before he collared you.

 

Maybe since you’re such a **_failure_ **, perhaps-... Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad being a Pet? Maybe you’ll actually enjoy it… It shouldn’t be that bad, would it?

 

What other choice do you have, though?...

 

Can’t live with humans; Instincts act up to where it stresses you to no end. Proven that the last time you tried to travel to a town.

 

Monsters?... Who in the right mind will look at you as if you’re nothing more than a _toy?_

 

_...You Have No Choice..._

 

Whatever was happening, all you knew was you were dazed right back out of it, allowing your tears to drip down your face silently as everything began to become too much for you. Still had strength enough to not allow your real emotions to overcome and show, wrecking your body with those hard sobs, but weak enough to allow such an overflowing dam to leak, allowing the pressure to slowly give out as your body began to scream finally in your protest of choices you had made.

 

Shoulder surged with the burning pain from the bullet, eyes stung as your tears kept falling and blurring your vision, your wrists and body feeling weighed down by the metal around certain parts, your actual heart pounding and converting within your chest, but mainly your neck becoming cold once again as your ‘New Master’ stands close with no other warnings coming to your collar.

 

The same boney hands gently cupped around your shoulders, similar magic of long ago surrounding your stinging shoulder as it numbed the pain away. The same hands holding you firmly as they forced you to move away from the whole scene.

 

A voice rang out close by, the same voice you will have to get used to as you call it _‘Master’_ until they get bored of you.

 

Another voice rang out in response to your Master's, no doubt will have to call similar in meaning.

 

Allowing yourself to be steered to be taken anywhere, ears failed as you tried to gain all your ground back from falling. Trying to find your bearings once more, forcing yourself to become cold yet again.

 

Following blindly, like a moldsmol to the slaughter rings.

 

_You Gave Up, Yes..._

 

 

_... But Not Giving In._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short!
> 
> This was a very-... VERY Heavy chapter. Even my soul is swirling.
> 
> But hey, what an opening to see Reader, huh? She's not all fully robotic! Just.  
> Very.
> 
> ...
> 
> Numb?
> 
> No, if you think that was numb, just wait until we get into the meat of things...


	4. Unknown Territory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mutt and Reader finally have a small little get to know one another.
> 
> Reader is not a happy camper and Mutt is trying hard to balance his mood swings...
> 
> So many thoughts are making Readers mind spin and Mutt is no stranger to the snarky remarks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings needed for this chapter!  
> All safe besides the scent of blood... Which, Shower time!
> 
> Soft fluff; Gotta ease into things slowly!

The next thing you knew, you were trying desperately not to kneel over by the sudden air escaping your lungs, the blinding darkness surrounding your vision, and your stomach feeling as if it was burning as it clawed its way up your throat.

 

Legs didn’t desire to obey your command to stand as you stumbled, ready to catch yourself on the floor before what felt like hard branches holding you tight around your bicep and around your waist halting your movements. They tightened their hold and the feeling of being pulled against something that you couldn’t quite tell what dug into you harshly. It was as if something was there yet not with only what you could describe were stones digging into your side. Couldn’t comprehend as your squirming was of no help to ease the irritability, making the foreign objects feel like knives digging into your side worse the more you moved.

 

“easy there, Kitten.” Master said, voice full of something along the lines of amusement and a hint of concern. “took a shortcut… fergot ya humans don’ handle ‘em well, bu’ least i can tell ya ain’t fully soulless on me, heh.”

 

Blinking away the blinding darkness, light began to venture back into your vision only for the room to begin spinning. Shutting your eyes tight, your head began to throb as you swallowed whatever bile that tried to make its way up, or rather; still trying. Finding yourself leaning against the hard wall and your legs feeling that of jello, you forced yourself to stand as strongly as you could at the moment, if yet shakily. The branches eased their grip on you when doing so, yet stayed settled on your waist and arm as if to hold you back if you tried to do anything else. A sense of unease washed over as you gave a shaky breath, desperately trying to regain control of yourself.

 

“ah, tha’ bad, huh?... don’ worry, i’ll get’cha somethin’. take a seat fer now.” Master said, easing you down onto something-... Soft.

 

Brows furrowing, you tentatively began to feel around on the cushioned fabric, taking notice that it was well used but had nothing of covers on it. Taking study of the surface of the furniture, you noted how it wasn’t a bed as your fingers brushed against what felt like a cushion that separated in the middle, the kind made with some type of fabric that was oddly soft to the touch. Sheets of any kind were absent as your fingers hit a similar surface just behind as you hoped as the hands completely left you.

 

Head throbbing with pain, you slowly began to open your eyes when hearing footsteps walking away. As you fully opened them, squinting and blinking away the blur of the ceiling lights to help your vision, you noticed a tall figure disappeared into what you assume to be a kitchen, the tile and fridge being present of what you could make out.

 

As feeling began to rush back into you, the first thing you noticed was that your face was wet to unimaginable levels you’re used to more in darkness. Trying to wipe your eyes dry was fruitless as the tears wouldn’t stop due to your nerves being shot. Covering your mouth, you closed your eyes once more as you breathed in deeply, only to exhale after counting within your head. Continuing to do this, you did it a few more times before you felt your own soul settle and your walls growing around your shaken state. Once you felt your tears stopping, body finally stoning back to manageable levels, you wipes your eyes clean once more.

 

No use crying, no mercy will be on you now… Tears will only fuel their hunger, whoever you have ended up with will surely use that against you.

 

_Do not show Vulnerability._

 

After finally getting settled, rustling of sorts could be heard from where you saw the large figure disappearing to. Placing your hands down within your lap, slowly opened your eyes once more to view the area.

 

It seemed to be a large living room of sorts. The place was cleaned spotless, something that would put your own home to shame. Curtains of satin hung around the windows with something covering them, hiding the outside with dark wood. Walls were bare, but the room itself looked vacant of life besides the small touches as another armchair rested to the side. Above where odd lights that seemed to sink within the ceiling, yet their brightness shining down made you unable to tell just how many were up there as your gaze fell down at the furniture you were sitting on, suddenly uncomfortable on the long, dark colored sofa for an unknown reason.

 

It was too-... Perfect.

 

Looking forward, there was a large screen tv. Or, what you believe was a tv… it was so much thinner than you could ever recall one being. It was resting on a dark wooden frame with drawers, beside it to the right was a large bookshelf that seemed to have ton of movies on it… And other items down at the bottom with what looked to be-...

 

Were those-... Old game consoles?

 

It’s been ages since you saw something like that. It brought a faint smile to your face, only to be wiped away quickly when hearing footsteps returning. Head snapping to attention, you held your breath to keep yourself from reacting to whatever creature your Master may be.

 

When the footsteps stopped abruptly, you tilted your head slightly to the side before your collar sent a warm sensation on one side before glancing to the area-

 

Where a large, lanky, skeleton monster appeared by your side out of thin air on the sofa, their weight barely making a dent beside you. Staring with wide eyes at the sudden appearance, you were somewhat shocked by the figure just poofing from existence, but more stunned to see they were a skeleton. A monster, similar to the one from before…

 

But _much_ taller.

 

Unease grew just that much more in the pits of your stomach.

 

“allright, here-” They turned while handing you something, only to immediately give a small jolt in surprise that had you jump on alert, the reaction coming through clear to your collar that your Master was just frightened.

 

You were about to get up before-

 

“dammit, no one’s eva-... gave _me_ a jump outta m’skin when i shortcut.” The Skeleton said with a forced short laugh, voice matching your Masters as they stared at you with a weird expression.  

 

You blinked at the creature in shock, feeling the dread piling up more. The Master began to break out of whatever kept them frozen first as they easily slid to become more relaxed, their tension easing from their shoulders as they had a hint of mischief hit their face…

 

Somehow.

 

“...wha’, like wha’cha see, Kitten?” The Skeleton said in a tone so deep, you suspected that they go by male gender.

 

When you didn’t respond, eyes solely trained on the creature in question, he began to have a faint smile playing on his fangs as he gently wiggled-... an eyebrow at you? No. Bone brow?

 

Expressional for a creature made of bone… Must be the magic he’s made of.

 

“ya look like yer ‘bout ta jump m’bones, heh…” Master paused before leaning forwards, making you lean back. “wouldn’ mind afta takin’ a shower, er bettah yet… durin’?” He winked.

 

Had to have made a face at the monster, but he said nothing as he gave you a bottle and something small, your eyes narrowing at him just slightly in suspicion as you took a quick glance down at the items.

 

Upon closer inspection, seemed to be a small blue pill with words of ‘Asvial’ and a bottle of water… Looking back up, your eyes went straight to his empty sockets. When he began to give yet another bone brow wag, you were quick to glance away, trying your best not to scowl.

 

Seems you have a Pervert on your hands… _Wonderful._

 

“...Sorry, Master.” You finally said, the collar sent a surprised reaction seconds later, making you turn your head to the one responsible for it in questioning.

 

“...yer an actual pet then, huh?...” Master said, his face going into what you assume confusion. “... s’tha’ what yer collar really means?” He questioned, pointing to your neck with an oddly sharp finger of his.

 

...Is he-... This monster has to be joking, isn’t he?

 

“wha’, already dislike me, Pet?”  He said in a mocking tone full of amusement, only for you to turn your head and practically feel your stance raise to that of anger.

 

Lifting a hand up to the bridge of your nose, you instead tried to soothe yourself by rubbing with a slow inhale. Exhaling, your brain was throbbing twice as hard. Relax… Calm yourself. Maybe this will be-... A joke? Has to be a joke… It needs to be a very sick, disgusting, horrible joke...

 

“damn, thought it was love at first sight… ya wound me, Kitten.” Master gave a sigh, a side glance showed him putting his hand over his chest in a forge of hurt.

 

Nope. Even the link in your collar made it clear he thought you were one.

 

“Please…” Your voice croaked looking back at the items in your hands. “Not a Pet.” You spat, hoping and pleading to something above that you both at least had a fight. Stars, please allow that thought to stay in your mind…

 

“if ya ain’ a pet, then wha’re’ya?” He asked, confusion laced in his tone of curiosity.

 

Killing the growl that was forcing its way up, you decided to not answer and instead keep your eyes on the bottle of water to study it, leaving the unknown pill in your other palm as you tighten your grip on it. Clearly, the bottle couldn’t be tampered with as you saw the lid unopened… Even when you squinted close, tipping it around just to see if any small holes had been made, you were pleased enough by your findings to open it up. Master seemed to have some type of patiences as you felt his eyes trained on you, though it was beginning to run short as you swirled the water experimentally before finally taking a drink.

 

“...‘n here i thought m’bro was paranoid…” Master said in a tone of amusement, but there was no ill intentions behind his words.

 

Sipping slowly, your body craved you to down the liquid like you were desperate. Forcing yourself to continue slow and easy, you were pleased as the liquid began to help ease your burning throat you didn’t realize felt so raw, it was as if you screamed for days… Something in the deepest pit of your Soul saying you had.

 

Something of a wrapper was rustling, catching your attention as you glanced over to whom you now call ‘Master’. He pulled something out of his jacket pocket, undoing a small pink little orb that had a slight glowing tint to it. Rolling it within his boney hands, clearly taking notice of you watching his movement. He tossed it up and you watched as his jaws opened wide, looking as if it was a void of light as the pink glow fell into his maul; Only for a very loud, extremely disturbing sound of crunching to ring out. Holding back a flinch, your eyes went wide as you watched a dim orange-... Jelly like thing snake out of his jaws as it brushed against his fangs.

 

Was-... Was that a tongue? What in the heavens!?

 

“wha’, ya curious, lil’ Kitten?” Master purred at you, catching your stare as you quickly looked back up.

 

He caught your chin in his claws quicker than you could respond, making you stare right at his sockets. He gave one more show of his-... Tongue sweeping against his fangs, amusement ringing clear as you felt your face turn from surprised to disgust.

 

“i can show ya jus’ wha’ it does… i can see th’gleam in yer eye tha’ wants t’know.” Master seemed to have gave a growl as he got just so much closer, keeping your chin trapped as he gently gave an experimental brush with his thumb against your skin.

 

As awkward as this situation was, the claws around your chin were strangely-... Gentle.

 

Another alert of how Master thought you were a Pet rang through your collar, making your face going straight back to your stoney glare.

 

“Curious, yes…”  You glared back at him, wanting to wince at your voice as it croaked. “Desperate?... No.” Resisting the urge to do anything else, you both held each other's eyes for a long moment.

 

Master blinked, taken off-guard by your response. Though it was short lived victory as he gave a hum, retreating back and released you as his fangs went into what you believe was a smirk. When he made himself comfortable on the sofa beside you, something odd hit your collar… Was that suspicion? Confusion? Perhaps anger at your little outburst? You couldn’t tell, but it made you bristle as you both kept the other in your sights.

 

Seemed he was studying you with those dark sockets, which made you feel as if he was trying to figure something out. Feeling yourself twitch when noticing how tired he looked, you felt as tired as he appeared… Probably did look similar, if not worse than those skeleton features of his. Your eyes traveled to a scar over his right socket that went from the top of his socket lid? Eyelid? And down to his mid cheek in a slight angle. Then a golden fang caught your attention as two small cracks ran upwards from it on the left side of his face… Only to look right back into his sockets.

 

“heh, perty fiesty… allright, well then...” He coughed into his hand, only to roll his neck as his head lolled to the side on his shoulder as he crossed his arms over his chest to lean back. “sorri’ t’break it to ya, Kitten… ya’ll be stuck wit’me fer a while. so… got any questions? ”

 

“Just one…” You held the urge to roll your eyes. “How, by chance, had you-... We-... Got one another's company?”

 

Master narrowed his sockets at you as he crossed his legs at his ankles and stretched out a bit, taking a stance of relaxing and carefree as his fangs kept a smile.

 

“well... if i tell ya tha’, do i get an answer from m’previous question, Pet?”

 

To answer or to not… You felt yourself wanting to disobey, however you breathed in deeply and exhaled softly.

 

“As I said before… Not a Pet…” You began, only to sit straighter. “A… Tool, you could say.” Half truth is alright, wasn’t it?

 

“...tha’-... allright… allright, a _tool_ … so, ya can do wha’, exactly? ya’a maid er somethin’?” Masters brow quirked.

 

“I can clean and cook as one… Yes…” You trailed off, being a maid doesn’t sound bad, you know how to clean, to cook, to tend to others wounds…

 

Perfect, get him to think you’re something else! Be better than a Pet that’d be useless…

 

When the quiet began to stretch, it was clear he was waiting for you to continue. Staring at each other, you saw his one socket twitch… Either with annoyance or trying not to laugh was hard to understand with the creature.

 

“...is tha’ all ima get?” His voice began to go borderline annoyed as he gave you a flat look. “yer jus’ some tool fer th’house er somethin’?”

 

“...Yes.” Resisting the urge to finally smirk yourself, you kept his stare.

 

“...damn, yer really somethin’ else, ain’t’cha?” Master deadpanned at you, only for your lips to twitch. “fine… take wha’ i can get.” He huffed as he somehow rolled his eyes.

 

“when we were in th’cabin, i was healin’ ya, ‘n well-... one thing lead to ‘notha-” He paused for effect and rolled his boney hand, looking up slightly before returning his gaze back onto you, pointing his finger right back at your neck with a lopsided grin. “i clipped th’collar. didn’ know wha’ tha’ was if ‘m bein’ honest.”

 

You sat up a bit taller, your eyes growing wider. Panic began to bubble up as you studied him, pleading for something to say that wasn’t right. When his smile began to twitch and a small hint of nervous energy began to come through, you wanted to just-... Walk right out the door.  

 

This monster-... _Accidentally latch your collar!?_

 

“...When?” You asked hesitantly, your grip on the bottle tight enough you both flinched when the sound of crackling escaped.

 

“...you-... uh-.... don’ ‘member?...” Master asked, confusion knitting his brows as he grabbed the empty plastic from you easily yet with a pace slow enough it didn’t register. Shaking your head with your eyes glued to him, his brows went up as his sockets grew a bit larger. “...oh… uh-... prob’ a few hours, now… ya fought some humans who’d aimed guns at’cha… i followed ya there...”

 

Your head gave a large throb that made your eye twitch in pain. The only thing you could remember was being shot by that man after coming from the black out, however that was healed before you got here...

 

“wanna know how i got in th’cabin?” Master said, gaining your attention once more as you narrowed your eyes at the flirty air he gave.

 

When it was clear he wasn’t going to tell until you responded… You wanted to growl.

 

“What… Happened, Sir?” You asked maybe a bit too curtly between gritted teeth, leaning back when he leaned forward to you.

 

“oh… ya won’ fuckin’ believe it neitha’...” Master paused, getting closer as you continued to lean away.

 

So close, you could feel his questionable breath against your face as your nerves began to fray. With his fluffy hood over his skull, he radiated threat and danger as you could see some type of light flash in his sockets. How the shadows formed over his eyes, it made his features of intimidation just that much more noticeable as he began to loom over your figure.

 

Realizing you wanted to shrink back more from just his glare alone, you focused on stopping your retreating form, going as far as to force back just a smidge to where you both were nose to nasal cavity as you both held a stare down once more. It felt as if he was testing just to see how much closer he could get before something happened. His fangs went into a larger smile than you were comfortable with, his sockets trained on you, only to finally answer after a long, unsettling pause.

 

“ya fuckin’ invited me in-...”  He paused before his sockets crinkling with mirth as you stared at him confused. “...fer _tea._ ”

 

“ _Tea?_...” You parroted, deadpanning at his sudden tone of joy.

 

“yup, _tea._ ” Master pulled back, leaning against the sofa with the most amused smirk on his fangs.

 

Found yourself mirroring his emotion, your lips twitching only to push it down and glancing away.

 

“Well, that is-... Comforting to say the least.” You sighed quietly, sitting back up straight as you gained your personal space once more.

 

“wha, ya thought somethin’ else, Darlin’?” Master said, his voice full of delight.

 

No, not what he possibly was hinting at… But it did bring questions.

 

“Perhaps… As misleading as you made it sound.” Side eyeing the monster, you felt yourself much more relieved than you had been before.

 

That earned you a louder laugh from the skeleton.

 

Turning back to him, you watched as he rubbed his face up and over, making his hood slide down the back of his skull. When he scratched the back of his neck, you noticed how his cheekbones protrude out sharply. As his glare found you yet again, the dread was slowly seeping out as there was a very calm air as he beamed at you, his sockets looking gentler now as the hoods ominous shadowing gone. Now he just looked-... Tired?

 

...How could such a monster switch so drastically?

 

“ya said th’exact same thing back at th’cabin. sure ya don’ ‘member m’handsome mug?” He winked at you as he rested his chin in his palm as his elbows rested on the sofas top, pointing at his face with his other hand.

 

Studying his face, he was-... Familiar, but nothing was coming to mind.

 

“Sorry, but I-... Do not.”

 

“eh, s’allright…” Master chuckled, giving a shrug. “like it bettah when th’gals can’t recall anyways… makes a fun recurrence.”

 

There was a twinge from your collars readings from that… However you decided best not to ask and simply look down at your lap.

 

Only to finally notice your appearance. Turning to the side to see holes, dirt, and dark stains litter your robe as it was slit down both sides of your thighs. Your hands trailed around the damage, torn, ragged, and frayed fabric to where it was unsalvageable…

 

Feeling your heart sink, you turned to take a look at your backside, finally noticing the gun holes and grazes of sort littering areas you’re shocked have healed already. Fingers traveling up, felt your sleeves were so loose, they would fall off if you give them just the smallest tug. That brings your attention up to your turtle neck, finally. Fingers grasping it softly to hide your shaking fingers, it felt you could rip it off by just holding it, a large hole allowing a breeze to gain access to your neck.

 

As you kept turning, studying yourself, strands of hair clumped together waved in front of your face, gaining your attention just as fast. Grabbing ahold of the strands, rubbing your fingers together, you felt how disgusting, grimey, and utterly knotted up it was under your touch. It was as if-... You were out-... For so long! How long and what were you doing?! What was today? Where was-

 

“Oh… Stars, no-...” You tried to swallow down the lump in your throat.

 

Taking one hand to bring up to your face, you couldn’t help cupping your mouth as you breathed in heavily and out shakily… Could feel yourself slipping once more, the stench of blood was thick within the room you had not noticed before, realizing your hand smelled of dirt and dried copper as you continued to breathe. Now you understood why you felt so uncomfortable in the home that was so spotless- Oh Stars, you would ruin everything!

 

Bolting up, you stumbled from the sofa as your hand kept to your mouth, trying not to ruin anything in your mist to get away. The dread and panic was starting to overflow in your gut as you felt your endurance shift to nothing.

 

_Showing-... You’re showing! Calm down, calm down! You can handle it, you can-_

 

“ey, ey! s’okay, Darlin’! yer allright, ‘member?” Master voiced, making your breathing pick up quicker. “tho’ some o’tha’ is yer blood, uh-... it’s mainly th’mens ya almost beat to’a pulp… if it’s any consolation?”

 

No, it’s not! It’s not the point! Nothing is alright, but the annoyingly soothing pulse coming from the collar began making you think other wise as you realized you were staring at a chest.

 

Arms wrapped around you the next moment, pulling you flush against what felt like a brick wall with a give away midsection, only plushed by thick clothing of sorts. A hand held your upper back as the other came up and stroked your head, the feeling becoming that of both welcomed yet not wanted.

 

You didn’t want to be touched, you felt his muddled Soul swirl with calmness and reassurance, comfort and what he thought of was ‘protection’ being pulsed through your skin, making it feel like you were being attacked in an encounter! How you wanted to squirm, to scream in anger!

 

How dare this-... This fake of a Master _‘Accidentally’_ claim you! Did he not realize what he had gained!? No, you could feel what he thought he actually gained…

 

It made you feel absolutely _disgusting._

 

Oh, Vines, you were going to be sick- So sick! _Get away!_

 

Gritting your teeth, you breathed a few more times with your hands clasped around your face, not giving into his hold as you used what he gave to ease yourself down from whatever was happening. Through your hands, you could smell his scent that made your stomach churn with disgust… That or it was the strange pill you had gripped to pieces earlier, allowing it to fall and the remaining dust was making you sick.

 

No, it was him that smelled like tangy BBQ sauce over more scent of blood, a strange scent of musk, with a mixture of sweet smoke that had a strange numbing effect.

 

...Actually, that seemed to be doing the trick.

 

Focusing just on that smoke scent, you could feel yourself ease down. Though you tried to keep your tense alert up, that strange scent was beginning to cause some type of effect on your body that you just-... Couldn’t help but ease into.

 

It was as if it made your brain halt in its tracks… Fogging up what you were just fretting over.

 

When your breathing finally settled, that was when Master had eased up on you. He leaned away slightly, however it didn’t take you long before realizing his sight was burning through you as you stood still. Tentatively, you looked up as the Skeleton was looking down at you with a certain feature as his fangs had a tilt of a smile on them. His golden canine gleamed as his tired socked crinkled just a bit. Another soothing pulse from his muddled Soul had your own twinge, settling to a strange rumble before it abruptly stopped and went quiet.

 

What in the ground was that?...

 

“there, yer allright, Kitten.” Master said, a soothing sense making your hands slowly leave your face. “ya feel calmer?”

 

Not sure what to fully say, you settled for a simple nod.

 

“good, c’mon…” Master fully released you after one more pat on your head, walking away as he waved a hand for you to follow. “sure ya want somethin’-... cleanier t’wear fer th’night.”

 

Just like that, your brain was back to being up on alert once the Master left, but not-... As panicked?

 

Giving the Master a dead stare from behind, following his back as he traveled through the house and up a flight of stairs eerily quiet. Keeping your distance, you didn’t want to take your eyes off him, worried about what just happened to make you switch so easily…

 

He stood in front of a hallway door and opened it up, turning the light on. As he saw how far away you were, sockets blinked before what looked to be an easy grin flashed your way, making your body tense just a bit more.

 

“s’jus’ in this room.” Master said, slowly disappearing first.

 

Walking fast, you were swift to get to the doorway to keep your Master in your vision. Only to freeze in place were you stood, feeling your stomach wreck itself with nerves you so desperately wanted gone.

 

Master had apparently lead you to a room of utter chaos and destruction, but you could still tell it was a bedroom of sorts. Trash littered the floor with many clothing sprawled around, what looked to be a table or desk of some kind filled with an overwhelming amount of papers, mugs, and… Noodle bowls? In fact, yes… Unfinished bowls of noodles were around the room, mugs of both empty and half filled were along any shelf known, and tons of take out bags littered every space.

 

It seems there was a large bed against the wall, covered in wadded up blankets and clothing. Narrowing your eyes, looks like feminine underwear was hanging haphazardly off the beds frame, some odd items sticking out from under the bed to the side, and a larger pile of pillows and an array of other junk in the middle of the bed. Wait-...

 

Was there an animal staring daggers at you from underneath the pile?

 

“yah, s’mess… sorri’, don’ got alotta time t’clean.” Master said, gaining your attention as he stood by another door, swiftly pushing it open and flicking the light on. “this’s where i’d ratha ya see, much neater er else i get m’tail torn off… heh.”

 

It was another room… No sooner you get near, he’ll grab you and lock something else on you so you can’t fight, can’t resist!

 

Mentally scrolling that you could try and defend yourself, you felt yourself wither slightly as all he could use was one word to have you stop in your tracks if you so tried. Feeling your hands shake nervously, you quickly folded them together over your stomach as you squeezed one more than the other as you took slow steps inward, giving yourself a sense of fake ease.

 

As you walked in, you tried not to wince at the stench of the room. The same BBQ smell came back but much stronger, odor of stale smoke and a sad excuse of some type of air freshener roamed within as it tried to hide the scent of old and moldy remains of both coffee and noodle water. Other scents were present, but the hint was left to unknown measures.

 

Master stared at you curiously with a tint of amusement which you were beginning to dislike.

 

“... if ya want a bathin’ partner, i’d be all down t’scrub yer back.” Master seemed to have-... Purred at you, a question of why he would use that term. “i ain’t got nuthin’ ta scrub, doc says i should eat more t’gain it, but it neva sticks, heh…” He winked once again as he lifted a hand up to wiggle his bones, to which you kept a deadpan stare.

 

Was he-... Trying to get your guard down with puns? That made you more suspicious as you got closer. Keeping your Master in your peraphial, you took a glance into the room he had opened.

 

...Wait.

 

It wasn’t a dark cell, or something cold, it was just-... A bathroom? Master had lead you to a bathroom?... Like he said, it was much cleaner than the room you were currently in, though it still had an odd scent in the air you couldn’t place. Quickly looking up to the looming figure, who seemed to just lean against the door frame, hands in his pockets as he was waiting for a response...

 

“I-... Can bathe myself, if that is the alternate question you were asking.” You quipped, Master’s fangs turning into a straight line-...

 

Before another chuckle escaped him. Realizing just how baritone, deep, and gravelly it was; you couldn’t help looking within as how-... Your voice seemed to be similar. You will have to try and gain yourself the ability to venture to grab some tea for your throat… If he will allow you to leave the house, that is.

 

“damn, so ya got some claw’s, do ya? tha’s good t’know. wouldn’ b’fun otha wise.”

 

Eyes widening with alert, you bristled at that sentence as Master slinked passed you and into the room, motioning you to follow once again as you held your breath. Though that was getting old very fast, you did obliged, keeping your glare at his back with an undertone of a fighting stance before he pointed to a cabinet. Laying your eyes on it, the door began to glow with a familiar orange before opening up to view towels and bathroom supplies.

 

...You were getting somewhat confused with the weird mix signals Master was giving off here.

 

“m’Lord ‘n i don’ use yer human products… bu’ we babysit a teen sometimes, so feel free t’use their stuff.” You questioned this ‘Lord’ person, the thought of your Master having one himself making you feel even worse about getting trapped with such a creature. “got one of them-... hairdryers, too… toothbrushes, toothpaste, other shit ya humans need.” Master rolled his hand as you nodded.

 

“questions?” He asked, looking over his shoulder and down at you.

 

“No, Master.”

 

“...Mutt.” Glancing up, Master hand his hands back in his pockets, staring at you with an unreadable expression as he faced you half way now.

 

...All these names… Are getting very confusing.

 

“I am… Confused.” You asked, tentatively. “Have you named me Darling, Kitten, or Mutt?” You tilted your head.

 

This time Masters sockets grew in actual surprise, only to cover his fangs with a hand as his shoulders shook. Furrowing your brow from the obvious amusement he was in, you didn’t understand what was so hilarious…

 

“oh-... _stars_ , no. uh-...” Master slid his hand down and pulled at his own collar you’re just now noticing around his neck, making your stomach drop. “woof, woof, Darlin’.”

 

Maybe you shouldn’t have asked.

 

“I-... See… Your name is-... Mutt?”

 

“eh... s’wha’ i go by.” He gave a casual shrug.

 

Now it made sense, stuck not only to a Pervert, but to a Lesser… Gaining his magical readings right as your mind finally began to work correctly, he had low amounts that were barely radiating off him. Give him credit for the intimidation tactic, was powerful enough to take your mind off his readings. That’s actually-... Scary, for a Lesser to know how to create an illusion of being a threat truthfully. But, you respected that. Was hard to manage and this creature did it perfectly.

 

Inhaling, you nodded. If he’s weak, you could-... Protect him, right? For a limited time, at least. Just until the collar wore off from-

 

“so... if ya don’ like Darlin’ er Kitten… gotta name?” Master asked, leaning back against the sink as you stood awkwardly in the middle of the bathroom. “ain’t up ta jus’ callin’ ya Human er somethin’ ya hate.” He said, an air of relaxed atmosphere as he watched your moves carefully.

 

“No, those are fine. I do not mind what you call me.” You took your eyes off the Master to look around. “Whatever you say, I will respond immediately to you.” You eyed the shower, noticing just how large it was with no shower head… Wait, where was the water suppose to come out of?

 

“really?... no name from b’fer? wha’re ya, a Jane Doe?” Master walked to the shower, probably noticing your confusion as he turned the knobs on. “well... i did find ya in’the woods… could call ya tha’, er Red ridin’ hood, heh.”

 

Ignoring the names, you stared in awe as the water came from the ceiling! It was like an indoor waterfall! That was-... That was pretty cool! You felt yourself a bit giddy before covering your mouth with a hand, glancing to Master who seemed to had caught you red handed with a smug smile.

 

“allright, tell me afta. don’ gotta _fill me up_ wit’ info in’th’bathroom… i mean, less you’d wanna? could help wit’that.” Master wiggled his bone brow again as he leaned towards you once more like earlier, making you stare at him blankly once again.

 

Silence as you both stared at one another.

 

“oof... _water_ my jokes, dry? er do i gotta get ya _wet_ ta handle ‘em betta?”

 

…Very vulgar, isn’t he?

 

“You… Are not very humorous, Master. You should not be trying to flirt with filth…” Putting your hand into the water, you shivered slightly as you felt the coldness.

 

“heh, ya rubbin’ my ribs raw here, Darlin’...” Master chuckled, turning a knob more to where the water had warmed up to a perfect temperature for you. “flirtin’ wit’ filth? c’mon, i don’ see nothin’ murkin’ tha’ perty face of yers.”

 

...Wait, when did you both get close to each other?

 

“The water will waste if I do not hurry. You do desire for me to become clean, no?” You decided to say instead, keeping your eyes peeled on the water.

 

“if i say no, can i clean ya m’self?” He chuckled, reaching into the water and flung a bit of water at you, to which a hand of yours came up and blocked the assaulting attack, glaring at him finally.

 

Master stared right back with a smirk saying he wanted your attention.

 

…

 

You… Can not handle this.

 

“No, you may not.” You curtly add after a few moments, splashing back at your annoyance, to which that seemed to give you a spark in your collar of more amusement and a hint of-... What was that, exactly?

 

“heh, allright, allright… m’out.” Master raised his hands up in surrender, wiping a few water drops off his cheekbones with a chuckle as he wondered to the door. “if ya change yer mind, just holla fer me, Darlin’. i’ll come runnin’ in’a _flash._ ” He turned and winked at you before closing the door with a soft click.

 

Standing there, you stared at the door as your collar began to buzz with a very odd-... Sensation. Something was very off with this creature…

 

...It was a trick. Had to be a trick. You gave a heavy sigh as you finally went for your shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, Reader isn't as numb here; But mind is working top speed!
> 
> Hope you folks enjoy it so far! Thanks for checkin'~


	5. Unsettling Situations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything hurts...  
> This situation sucks.
> 
> But you can't just allow your mind to wonder to what happened; Not yet, not now!
> 
> Stay strong! You got this!
> 
>  
> 
> _...Wait, what is with this dude?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only warning of this chapter is;  
>  _Mentions of dark thoughts for a split moment; But it gets quickly kicked out of mind!_
> 
> And fluff. I hope I gave a bunch'a fluff...

Everything blurred around your eyes as the water trickled down, emotions raging within your mind as you tried to wash them away, feelings you couldn’t allow trying to escape as it felt like knives twisting in your heart as you continued to push everything to the side.

 

Losing your vision due to fatigue or unknowingly breaking down escaped as you scrubbed at your skin with vigor.

 

_Not right now, not now... Don’t worry about it, stop worrying... Relax… I **WILL** Be Fine. _

 

A mantra you were so used to chanting kept echoing within your throbbing mind, the pain of the headache grounding you to stay sane each time you took a breath.

 

Bringing your thoughts around to the Monster who collared you, on **_accident_ **, your rage began to build as you felt your hatred seeping from your own Soul.

 

Without knowing anything at all of the creature, the metal around your neck still registered his intentions, his _emotions_ … That wasn’t right! Can’t think of him as a Master… Master was just a title you learned to say automatically, there is no trust within it. Just a word, a meaningless word. Just someone you have to unwillingly protect, for a limited time.

 

_I got this… I’ll be fine. I'm always fine… Fine, fine, fine, fine,_ **_f i n e._ **

 

Giving yourself a look over as much as your vision could allow, you saw and felt clean enough. Turning the shower off, you had to bite back a noise when the water turned of pure ice against your body from turning one knob faster than the other as you fumbled to turn it off.

 

It was nice that your focus came right back up and alert from that small mistake.

 

_Can’t zone out, can’t… Focus, focus! Or I’ll regret it-... F o c u s..._

 

Wasn’t long before you felt eyes bore into you.

 

A quick assessment of your surrounding showed that you had company, indeed… The eyes that burned into you were colors of ice and sea, belonging to a feline with fur as white as snow. Their line of sight locked on your neck, making your hand twitch. Immediately, you wanted to-...

 

_… It doesn’t matter._

 

Ignoring the cat, which you faintly wondered how it got in, you were quick to wrap yourself up in a towel.

 

The fogged mirror caught your attention for a moment, which hid your appearance as you gave a deep sigh. Were grateful that you couldn’t see, scared of who would be staring back. Felt yourself beginning to cover that with what little strength you had left to keep your mind cleared, your chest dulling in a pain as you focused on drying yourself off. 

 

_Pathetic, scared of a reflection..._

 

Never to be driven by your emotions, you took more time to breathe-

 

Before a soft knock came.

 

“Kitten?..." The Monsters voice rang out, making you twitch. "Darlin’, ya hear me?” 

 

No, you didn’t hear… No, you didn’t want to speak. He shouldn’t be playing games with you like this, if he wanted to come in-... He should just-!... _Do it!_ Come in and stop making your mind race with feelings you couldn’t control! You could take him, fight him now! Challenge him here and now, see if he actually could be able-

 

...Clenching your fists together, felt a noiseless growl escape. 

 

_It’s not his fault… But it is?_

 

No, not _his_ fault, it was _yours_. You had-... Why? Why, why, why, why-

 

Another knock.

 

“....Kitten? ey, ya allright in’there? ya-...  _feline_ ya need th'help after all?” Something of actual worry rang through his voice that time.

 

Does he think you’re stupid? That you don’t know what he’s trying for here?

 

Still, you need to-... _Answer._

 

Answer and get on with your life. It awaits, just there. Beyond the door. With someone who picked you up on a whim without knowing-

 

Without knowing...

 

_...What do you know anymore…_

 

Walking to the door, finally answering it as you saw the Skeleton was ready to knock again. Standing there in silence, he stared at you before glancing behind you.

 

Taking in his appearance, felt yourself becoming sick.

 

He doesn’t need something like you, just look at his hands… Their practically claws! Though he may be a Lesser, its as if this Monsters figure screams to leave him alone without any help. Made of bones that look as sharp as knives, facial features are warped to being pointed and scarred, jaw full of fangs, even the sockets he owns help aid into his appearance of threat and danger. Everything about his posture screams-

 

… Why was he worried?

 

“Sorry, Sir-… For taking so long.” You tried to ease, yet unable to soothe as your voice held tightly.

 

“wha’?” He said distractedly before his gaze fell back onto you, sidestepping out of your way. “nah, don’ care… did’ja hear me?” Once again, his eyes peaked in the bathroom before finally deciding to stay on you.

 

“I-... Heard you call, forgive me for-”

“Kitten, yer voice is as hoarse as a crow… in fact, it puts mine t’shame.” He paused before putting his hand up on top of your head, making you feel as if you were a child as you glared at him.

 

_Must he_ **_touch_ ** _you?_

 

“oi... wha’, ya didn’ like th’shampoo er nuthin’ we had?” He questioned, suddenly feeling his claws going down your head to pull at the horrible nest of your tangled hair.

 

“No. Nothing like that, Sir.” You said automatically, feeling him tug gently on a particularly horrible knot that made you want to flinch, pulling your roots uncomfortably.

 

The help of the tugging was keeping your attention in the now, being harmless enough in his studying. Allowing him to continue what he was doing, quite possibly taking in your condition to see how stable you were. Something you were more used to, expected to be looked over, tolerant of in some aspect. Nothing was radiating off that seemed-... Off.

 

_Yet._

 

The Monster simply clicked-... With his tongue or with his bones, you weren’t sure, but his hand left your head as he moved down to your neck.

 

Internally, your fear began to rise and dread filling back up into your gut as his fingers traced around the metal, watching his expression turn from concern to something unreadable.

 

Nothing was coming off malicious, so you forced any thoughts down for now-... You were alright.

 

That was until you felt his sharp claw gently graze against your throat, kicking what little power you had against your mind slip free.

 

_‘He could kill me…’_ You thought almost sickening pleasant. _‘He could do it… So easily. Would he? Could a being such as a Lesser to do it? I would deserve-’_

“ya see anythin’ while ya were in there?” He began to go back to your hair, kicking your mind with the question.

 

“A white feline, Sir.” You said instantly.

 

A groan escaped him as he rubbed his face with the other hand, the bone on bone noise made you want to twitch.

 

“that damn-... it didn’ do anythin’ to ya, did it?” The Monster said, concern lacing in his tone as he stared down at you, his claws seemed to try and tangle themselves in your hair, much to your annoyance.

 

“They only stared, nothing more than that.” You paused, allowing how he worded that to sink in. “Is the feline-... _Dangerous_ , Master?”

 

Something hit your collar once more as you called him that… Not being able to pinpoint exactly what it was, you watched as his face turned displeased as he looked back at the bathroom. The thought of if he was mad was brief before thinking he would be glaring _at_ you, not _over_  you.

 

“...dangerous is an understatement…” He said under a growl.

 

Either that face was for you calling him something he didn't like or it was for the feline… Whatever it was, the displeased sensation made the hair on the back of your neck stand.

 

...Felt something slightly lift from your shoulders in that moment.

 

“I will make sure they are not a threat to you, Sir.” You said instead, already on the lookout for the creature in question.

 

As you look and glance around for the creature, you notice his magic readings had increased since last time. Must have had something to strengthen him for a limited time, making you wonder what item it might have been. 

 

There was only silence before you realized that the Skeleton was looking at you, puzzled.

 

“...wha’?... no-... no, fuck. if anythin’ their a damn menace to th’-... uh… ones i bring home, mainly. jus’ pranks tha’ might get-... eh-... dangerous.” He paused, his sockets traveling down your body as you tensed under his gaze as he went right back to your face. “i ain’t in no danger, shit’s like-... obsessed bu’ wouldn’ harm me. s’called th’ Yandere cat… i call it th’ fuckin’ _pain-in-me-ass-’ere_ cat.”

 

So, the feline is not dangerous, but to others he brings home? Staying quiet, you gave a soft nod in understanding.

 

But how he said that made your lips twitch.

 

Thankfully before the Skeleton pointed it out, the creature in question came out of nowhere and gave the most evillist glare you have ever seen from an animal, yet you gave them a softer expression in response. The creature was beautiful, what with fur looking to be shimmering as their eyes pierced you coldly.

 

“there ya are, ya lil’ shit…” The Monster practically growled, stepping slightly in front of you as he motioned a bone hand to the creature, his other sliding around your waist questionably. “Darlin’, meet Yuno, fuckin’ fog cloud.”

 

Despite the harsh attitude and clear dislike, the feline only mewed at the attention, showing its fangs in the process. Despite the feeling it kept its fangs out a bit longer than normal, it was practically a enjoyable looking creature. Or what you thought before another glare was sent your way, a warning within as their eyes went between the Skeletons hand and back to your face.

 

That-... Was utterly adorable. Their faces were cute.

 

“Greetings, Yuno.” You said, finding entertainment in the displeased look in its eyes.

 

Yuno seemed to study your face for a good while before walking over as you took a few steps away, only to mew in a high pitch that had a hint of appreciation with the happy tint to it before showing the Monster their love.

 

“dammit, no!” The Skeleton hissed, not sharing the felines ways as he tried to push Yuno off with his foot, trying to shoo the creature away from him with a small snarl.

 

Watching in hidden amusement, Yuno simply kept their purring up and rendered it higher than a jackhammer as they latched onto the Skeletons leg, claws sinking into his pants, making him sigh with exasperation.

 

That face made you cover your mouth to halt a growing smile, coughing into your hand to cover a strained chuckle that earned you a menacing glare from the feline as the Skeleton turned his attention to you.

 

“As much as I hate to-... Interrupt.” The cat began giving a very loud growl, which you ignored. “Might I ask for something to wear, please? I’ll allow you both to continue this-... Whatever it is, in piece afterward.” Keeping your eyes dead, you felt your own nerves swirl to the point it pained you.

 

“...right, right…”  His gaze fell lower, only for his expression to soften questionably as he looked back at you with a renewed smirk. “normally like ‘em jus’ in tha’ lil’ number, bu’ i got somethin’ else you might like, Darlin’.”

 

Doubt raged in your mind by his tone, but you didn’t dare speak. Whatever you were forced to wear… Could you make it doable? _Comfortable?_

 

… _Who cares._

 

With a swift motion of pushing the cat away, who yowled pittifully, the Skeleton got closer and slid his hand behind your back once more but higher up. Allowing him to steer you to view the once messy bed to see it was made since your absences. As you walked with him, getting closer, your eyes tried to make sense of something...

 

Only to halt in your place, frozen as a growl threatened to rumble from your chest.

 

By _‘Something Else’_ , does he mean he wants you in his bed? Were those _restraints?!_ Was he actually going to try-

 

The Skeleton stopped with you, a small noise escaped him that almost didn’t register as you swung your head towards him, fear fueling your anger and your thoughts swirling. “if them clothin’ ain’t allright, i can find-...” He stopped as he saw your expression and followed to look at the bed with confusion.

 

“oh **_god_** **_dammit, Yuno!_** ” You watched his skull dot with something, only for his own anger to burn against your collar as his face turned that of something threatening.

 

Standing stock still, you could feel your heart racing and beating against your ears. Was he-... Does he really think you’re going to fall for that?! Blaming it on the _cat?_ What kind of fool does he think he has here?!

 

“ya _motherfucker_! go get ‘em back, ya lil’ shit!” The anger made you blink back to reality, following his gaze as the anger was pointed at the feline down below, who stared with an innocent look on their face. 

 

Your brows knitted in confusion as you watched the Skeleton becoming-... Well, what could you say, exactly? Though annoyed, it was as if the Monster was distressed?

Something wasn’t right. Your eyes lingered on him, studying him with a means to know what he’s going for.

 

Watching in silence, the feline mewed loudly, knocking your thoughts out and gaining your attention. The feline glared once more at you before hissing, making you bristle.

 

Aren’t they just an animal? How were they so-... _Sentient?_

 

“nah, don’ start yer shit now.” The Monster narrowed his eyes, watching Yuno’s ears go down as their fur bristled, their glare staying on you. “tonight ain’t normal, so get yer fuzzy hide in gear ‘n grab them clothin’, i’ll give ya-”

The feline jumped up towards you the instant you tried to look back to the Monster, about to catch them before they were engulfed in that burnt orange glow. They squirmed and yowled at you, clearly displeased as they tried to swipe at you.

 

Staring, you saw it narrow its eyes dangerous at your neck once more.

 

_This feline is after_ **_blood_ ** _, not just pranks… What on earth?_

 

You stared numbly as the Skeleton took out a spray bottle and squirted the feline, who yowled more as it squirmed in the glow. The Monster quickly grabbed the cat with ease the next moment, mumbling something as you watched him walk to his bedroom door and forced the cat to run away with yet another squirt from the bottle.

 

Standing there, you were at a loss for words.

 

“ _next time i fuckin’ see ya act like that, i’ll make m’bro fuckin’ take ya ta th’god damn taxidermy, ya fog!_ ” He hissed before turning back to you.

 

The emotions ranging from annoyance, to ease, and then unsettled nerves rang out so loud, it made your ears ring. Making you both question yet slowly settle your own fears… Felt grateful for the collars ability to connect easily, even if it confused you with what he was trying to aim for, either for you or for himself...

 

What a strange creature in your mist.

 

“well, i’ll be damned…” Your eyes looked up as he was smirking at you. “so y’can smile. here i thought ya were jus’ stone cold ‘n i was losin’ my touch ta frostbite.”

 

...When did you smile? You couldn’t feel it.

 

“I am human…” You replied sternly, making sure your face fell back to a flat expression.

 

“really?... could’a fooled me.” He shrugged. “so cold, i thought i was back in snowdin wit’th’ice yer spillin’.”

 

Keeping your eyes glued to the creature in silence, you blocked the sudden thoughts of the past.

 

_Cold… Yes, what a great idea. The more you act-... Cold, the faster this will end._

 

“s’all’good... won’ warm ya’up th’normal way, anyways…” The Monster began to venture around the room, going into random piles of clothing. “i had clothin’ sittin’ out, gimmie a sec ‘n i’ll find somethin’ again.”

 

Watching him walk around and looking through different piles, you wanted to cringe at his movements. He pulled a few sweaters out and you watched him-... _Sniff_ them.

 

Oh heavens, you forgot that you told him you were a tool for the house, having your work cut out now for saying you were a maid… Already you could see yourself working on this room _alone_ for a week straight…

 

“‘sides, them restraints?” He pointed at the bed without looking, gaining your attention. “...s’fer me, not you, Darlin’.”

 

Before you could question, a tone dinged in the Monsters direction.

 

Watched as he dug through his pocket and pulled out a phone that seemed to be dwarfed by his hands, he scrolled through it and smiled that fanged smirk as he finished pulling a decently clean looking outfit from the pile, strolling over to you as he put the phone back and handed you the fabrics.

 

“here... s’jus’ ‘til we get things organized.” He said in a voice of both unsure yet with ease. “hope ya don’ mind, bu’ ordered some grub while ya were in there, so im’a get it while y’change, ey?”

 

Questioning the word _'grub'_ in your mind, were quick to realize it was a term used for _‘food’_.  

 

“Thank you, Sir.” You said weakly, staring at the clothing with a renewed stone expression, slowly making your way to accept.

 

Something slipped from your other hands grip as you reached to accept the new fabric tentatively, making your brows furrow.

 

Did you hold onto something before? What was it?

 

_...It doesn’t matter..._

 

“eh, don’mention it, Darlin’.”

 

For a moment… For a split moment, you felt a small bit of hope rise in your chest as you stared at the clothing. Was a black, long sleeved sweater, paired with dark grey sweatpants. A comfortable and easy look, quite the opposite of what you’ve been told back in the past. Both items were very soft, the sweater thick but not uncomfortably so and the pants seemed to have a tie string to adjust around the waist.

 

Though your mind continued to battle with deception you were forced to understand, forced to learn from the past… In this moment, you felt hopeful.

 

A wave of ease began to settle over your nerves.

 

Before you knew it, the items were playfully pulled from your grip and the black sweater was over your head, a soft chuckle ringing out as you blinked. Glancing down, the fabric was around your neck before the feeling of bone hands guided your arms up and acted as if trying to dress you.

 

Pulling back, you shook his arms off and regained control as you turned away from him, quick to dress your torso.

 

_Does he seriously think you need help?_

 

“there’s th’lil’ Alley cat.” He chuckled once more. “ya were jus’ starin’, didn’ want’cha t’be so shy… normally s’th’ otha way th’ gals get nervous, heh...”

 

_...Yes, sure they do, you handsy thing._

 

The Monster began to lean over as his jaw rested on your shoulder, his hands snaking around your waist as he showed the pants, only for you to stare unamused as he teasingly opened them up in front of you, another chuckle that has you glancing over with suspicion.

 

“i’m a lucky bag o’bones… get t’see ya in m’clothes, ‘n we don’ even know each otha, Darlin’.” He gazed back, winked ever once more.

 

Didn’t want to say a response to feed that mindset, making a grab to the pants to try and remove the fabric from his clutches, not wanting to deal with his looming figure anymore over you.

 

His boney hands easily dodged from yours, stretching out the pants wider and lowering it more, his long arms and hunched over self making it impossible to go and make a grab without bending over into the creature.

 

Giving him another dead glare, his smirk welcomed you teasingly as if he knew what you were thinking, much to your rising annoyance.

 

_Really?_

 

“heh, i gotcha, Darlin’... yer allright, i’ll even close m’eyes, huh?” The Skeleton said.

 

In the next moment and true to his word, he closed his sockets, even making a show to turn his face and-... Was he-

_Nuzzling_ into your neck?

 

It feels-... Strange? _Odd?_ Nothing ill into it, he’s just hiding his face.

 

Another sense of ease began to wash over you though from the Monsters honesty, finally making you move and-... holding onto his arms to slip into the sweats. Apparently he was either good at guessing or he peaked without moving his skull as he lifted the fabric up. Once they were within reach, you were quick to slip your hands under his, forcing him to let go and pulling them the rest of the way up.

 

Once safely secured, you took the towel off completely and hung it over your arm, waiting for him to unhide himself and step away.

 

...Only for his arms to wrap around your stomach and gave you a soft squeeze, his face burying into your neck more as he gave a satisfied sigh. His sharp bones were gentle as they grazed your skin, his forehead pushing against your jaw and tangled hair. The bones were-... _Warm_ … Wanted to lean back against him in truth.

 

Standing straighter, scrolding yourself of that mindset quickly as you stared down at the towel with renewed purpose.

 

“Sir?” You questioned, slowly getting a prickling sensation.

 

“mm? yah, Kitten?” The Monster said, digging a bit more into you as his arms seemed to tighten just a bit.

 

What do you say?... How do you react to this? Though your mind is telling you to force him to let you go, another part is feeling a calming effect coming off him. As if it’s surrounding your own Soul, the holding going so much deeper than just physical-

“...yer cold, did’ja have trouble in’th’shower afta all?” He chuckled against your neck, the vibrations traveling through your body as you tried not to give a response to the obvious tease.

 

“I-... Am not used to such modern machines.” You said truthfully, keeping your voice monotone as you forced your embarrassment to die.

 

“‘n i ain’t used ta such cold humans.” He purred, pulling his face out from your neck and giving your cheek a poke with a finger.

 

_...Such a touch sensitive creature._

 

“Do you not have an errand to run, Sir?” You said, gently grabbing his hand and moving it down and away from your face.

 

Though the contact was becoming-... Soothing, you felt yourself becoming too comfortable already. With your swift movements, you were able to untangle yourself from his grip and face him a few steps away, your eyes looking up to him in a way he seemed to-

...Did he just _slump_ from the lack of contact?

 

A strange pulse in your heart made you question just what type of magic the Skeleton has.

 

“dammit, ‘n here i thought i could warm ya up a bit more…” He gave a playful sigh, shrugging. “bu’ when a lady’s right, she’s ri-”

His voice was cut off by your stomach giving a very loud, horrible growling noise.

 

Your face twitched as you watched his face convert from shock to lighting up with amusement, his shoulders shaking as his surprised sockets twinkled in mirth at the noise. Biting back your groan, you were quick to suck in your stomach along with lacing your hands together as you rested them against it, trying to silence the wretched thing.

 

“ _holy-_ ... ya got’a beast chained in there er somethin’?” The Monster said, letting out a louder laughter. “sound worse than th’fuckin’ monsta’s magic pains, Darlin’, _damn!_ ”

 

Oh, those… You’ve seen many of the ones you trained go through that.

 

“Forgive me, Master.” You closed your eyes, your annoyance and embarrassment mixing dangerously together.

 

Another weird sensation hit your collar as you glanced up to him in confusion. His expression was washed from amusement and replaced with that of something unreadable again. A surge of clarity pierced through your link from his Soul becoming much cleaner than before.

 

...Like a fog was dispersing.

 

“... th’hells there t’fergive, Darlin’?” He gave an easy shrug, walking close to you as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders. “now-... i’ll get th’grub, ya can make yerself at home… feel betta if i saw ya watchin’ tv in’th’ livin’ room. ‘n if that damn fog cloud tries shit-... don’ kill ‘em, huh?” You watched his expression, trying to piece together what he was trying at.

 

Pulling something out of his pocket and dangled it by a metal chain in front of your face, the motion seeming familiar... Opening up your hand as he placed it down and pointed at it.

 

_A moment of pink passed your vision…_

 

“if it does bug ya somehow afta wha' i squirted 'em wit', jus’ play wit’ ‘em.” The Monster said, a smile not leaving his fangs as you studied the strange item. “push th’button there ‘n wiggle it til th’cats outta breath. get’s ‘em everytime. i’ll b’back, Kitten.”

 

With a gentle shoulder pat, a quick wink as he brought his fluffy hoodie back up over his skull, the Skeleton disappeared before your eyes, leaving you with such an odd feeling once again in your chest…

 

… Giving a deep sigh, you ventured to where you were-... Ordered? Told?... He said it would make him feel _‘Better’_...

 

_Like it matters._

 

* * *

 

 

Wandering into the living room, you took notice of the window and went to that first to get a glimpse of outside. It was nightfall now, could barely register anything as it was so dark… Though sounds like it’ll be raining soon if the wind picking up meant anything.

 

Eyes were taking in the new surroundings until they flickered to the bookshelf filled with cases which looked like movies and other odd yet familiar objects lining the shelves. As you travel around the room, the sight of Yuno would flash, but staying at a comfortable distance for the moment. Getting to the shelves, you studied the objects; Enjoying some remembrance at least as they brought happier memories.

 

Yes, was-... Not long ago did you and many who you grew close with under Fathers teachings grew the habit of finding some modern and new items to explore with. They brought home many things, some of which had Father rage with a ferocious and stern talking, bringing a solemn smile to your face at the memory.

 

Smile turning unsettling as you recall just why you ended up here to begin with.

 

Your fingers were traveling to your hair to unknot the hard nests that only seem to worsen in your touch, keeping your mind grounded in the now and preoccupied as your eyes traveled the shelves.

 

Going to just view the items, hoping for a distraction as you breathed in deeply. Exhaling out softly, your eyes viewed all the movies that were unknown to you. The collection seemed to be a mixture of movies of some sort of theme with that of blood letters and unsettling names until you moved down on the shelf with games.

 

Cartoon characters smiled up from the binders of the spines, cute creatures on some of the others. Laced within were similar looking titles of the movies that seem to have-... Dead humans that still walked. But above all, it was a mixture of cartoon looking humans, realistic looking, and then something of adorable animals with large bobble heads.

 

It made your shoulders relax just that much more, your eyes softening.

 

Before you could view anymore, a sense of warmth came from behind your neck. With ample time, you stood straighter with your face back into a straight line and tensing up once more. With a gentle pop in the air, you turned to view the Monster finally back with an easy grin on his face as he held a bag up with something else in his clutches.

 

His sockets seemed to look from you to the bookshelf and back, his hood sliding off his skull as he scratched the back of his head with that sound, making you want to twitch.

 

_Bone against bone was so odd to hear…_

 

“see ya took an interest in’th’ movies, huh? took ya as ghoul gal before, but-...” The Skeleton said, voice taking that on of both nervous and teasing. “heh, didn’ think ya’d really be spookin’ fer horror after all ya went throu’ t’night.”

 

Staying quiet, you simply studied his movements.

 

When he saw you weren’t coming closer, he placed the bag on the table beside the couch you didn’t noticed before. Blinking, he pulled out a small plastic container and was putting it down on the table along with a tall glass of… What was that, actually? It was pink.

 

Was it a drink?

 

“here, thought ya’d like somethin’-... tha’ won’ upset yer stomach.” The Monster said, only to point at the pink item you were staring at with mistrust. “well... i mean, got ya that… heh, a lil’ bitta sugah should help ease th’beast, thou’ i’d say m’sugah’s betta, bu’...” He gave a soft shrug.

 

_Sugar to ease the beast?_

 

The aroma finally filled the air, hitting your senses-… making your stomach churn.

 

Too sweet.

 

“i dunno ‘bout humans much, bu’ i know ya guys should have meat on ‘em bones, not jus’ skin.” He quipped before pulling out his own food, walking and sitting on the sofa.

 

Your brows furrowed. Looking back at the monster, didn’t know how to feel about this…  

 

Didn’t know how long it’s been since you’ve had a meal, your last one was during dinner from your recent memory… Were you so sickly, that even this creature could tell?

 

The response to your puzzled look was a pat on the sofa beside him, taking a remote in his other hand as he turned on the tv as he grinned up you with his own large tray of food in his lap.

 

“c’mon, can be a lil’ date ta get ta know one ‘notha, eh?” A smile not leaving his fangs as he turned to the tv. “wanna watch anythin’ special?... do ya even know wha’a tv is? heh… it’ll shock yer mind fer sure.”

 

_He was a Lesser,_ you sternly reminded yourself. _Clearly he’s harmless…_

 

Taking another moment to study his features, you slowly began to walk towards and carefully sat down on the couch on the far end where the coffee table was. He was sitting in the middle, but seemed to give you just enough space.

 

Still, generosity is generosity. Kindness is hard to come by, even with a Monster and Human alike up on the surface. Though he might try to do something later, you could at least-... _Acknowledge_ his gestures, even through the vulgar and crass flirtations within it.

 

“...Thank you-... Sir.” You gently said, your eyes trained on the food which your stomach both turned for and against.

 

_At least try to eat, give it a taste to see._

 

Food, you had to gain _some_ food… Or else become fatigued to the point you couldn’t do your job.

 

“eh, show yer gratitude by eatin’, eh?” He answered, to where you felt a poke on your side.

 

 

With quick hands, you followed suit of his words, despite how nervous you were. Your body and mind were protesting against one another, but your stomach won as it turned with pain. It gave a faint groan and growl as you couldn’t help but gulp down your worries.

 

Turning to see why he had poked you after getting settled, sudden regret made you want to vomit.

 

The Monster shoved a large pancake through his maul, dripping with a mixture of something you couldn’t tell. Everything on his plate you could imagine for a breakfast feast; Pancakes, scrambled eggs, waffles, large amounts of bacon and other items just-... Holy mother of Heavens, that was a lot of food!

 

Wait, was he-... Was he pouring _more_ of what hasn’t been doused in sauce already?! It looked both of maple syrup and-... Was that _BBQ sauce?_

 

Oh.

_No._

 

Averting your eyes, your stomach groaned in displeasure at the sight you had just seen. No wonder you felt so sick… Such sugary foods! And in that of a salty sauce! Ugh-... Just-...

 

Well. If that was how he likes to eat, you will just-.... Not have to look or watch.

 

Your eyes went dreadful as you stared at the plastic container in horror in your lap, unsure of what he had brought you.

 

Stoning yourself, you slowly opened it up.

 

When the smell of nothing but eggs and sausage with toast hit your nose, you couldn’t help but blink.  

 

“told’ja i didn’ want yer stomach upset, Darlin’.” He voiced your concerns, and you internally sighed a relief.

 

...He didn’t… Have to do that. Didn’t have to-

 

_Why?_ Why do this at all?

 

Your eyes scanned the food with suspicion before you heard a gruff chuckle.

 

“don’ like eggs? i can give ya some of my stuff ta take a _crack_ at, no _fowl_ play here, Darlin’.” Amusement clear in that voice of his, you held an eye roll.

 

“No, thank you… Sir.” You quickly said, keeping your eyes away from his food as you kept to your own.

 

The more you stared at it, the hungrier you became.

 

“then what’s up?... ain’t much a mindreader, Kitten.”

 

Gazing over at him as he eyed you, you wanted to growl as you quickly looked back to your plate.

 

“Nothing besides how-... Nice this is, Sir. Thank you-...” For _what?_

 

Why exactly are you thanking him for? Not being what those stories had been? How he wasn’t anything of those horrible things that gave you nightmares? You don’t know that yet, but hope was beginning to fill within you as your cheeks felt warm.

 

A gentle tug took your attention, making you blink and go high on alert as you looked at your side.

 

You had to stiffen your jolt as you found the Skeleton closer to you than before, a displeased look on his face settled as he tried to tug gently through your large knot you were trying to get rid of earlier.

 

_Why was- Did he not- Is he just-_

 

... You couldn’t for anything bring a functioning thought process as you stared at the creature, the ability to think quickly ending as your head pounded and throbbed against your skull, the gentle pulling he was doing halting your mind to a stop.

 

“there we go.” He said after some time, leaning away with a smile back on his fangs, his one hand still running through your hair with ease now. “s’all even now, looked painful… can tell it was buggin’ ya when i came back.”

 

…

 

“...Why?” You asked, hesitantly allowing him to continue brushing your hair with such a gentle caress, tilting your head towards him unknowingly.

 

So much different than when you did it with such dullness. His pure intent of curiosity and gesture of wanting nothing more than to play with it rung through and eased your own Soul as it felt-

 

_Light?_

 

“hm?... yer hands didn’ leave yer hair til i poked ya... lucky guess?” He tilted his head as he continued to brush through, grabbing more to continue running along through it.

 

Could tell he enjoyed it, running his claws through your hair as a pleased hummed rang out from him. His eyes seemed tranced on your hair, his fangs in a relaxed smile as the tv roared in the back. You continued to stare at him, feeling your whole body relax just enough your eyes felt heavy…

 

...Whole body twitched awake when the thought of being an actual pet rang clear in your mind.

 

Gritting your teeth, you looked away and back down at your food. Cursing, you blame the fatigue you’re experiencing screwing with your mind.

 

_Just tired… Don’t relax, you moron._

 

Felt a pair of claws slide under your chin, following the gentle movement as the Skeleton aimed your face right back at him, worry in his face and in the air as he stared.

 

“ey, yer allright here, y’know?” Seemed he was studying your expression. “won’t try nuthin’, don’ got th’ balls ta.”

 

Twitching at the crass pun, you felt a smile coming on as you stared back at him. The Monster knew it too if his sockets narrowed just slightly before a larger smile came back on his own face.

 

“‘sides, ya could prob’ beat m’ass… if i _had_ one.”

 

_...Don’t._

 

“i mean… ya could snap m’ _twiggy_ self easily, y’know?” He raised a bone brow, smirking.

 

_...Stop-!_

 

“ _snap, crackle, ‘n pop_ m’bones, Darlin’... wouldn' doubt it from ya.” He sighed playfully, stretching to just time perfectly timed popping noises, glancing over to you with a wiggle of his brow and his smile stretching larger.

 

_...Oh dear Stars, you did not just-_

 

“‘ey! ya lookin’ good wit’tha’ on yer face, Darlin’.” He beamed, poking your cheek.

 

As sharp as his claws were, it was such a gentle poke that made you give yet one more faint smile before shaking your head.

 

“You look better with it, Sir.” You gently moved his hand away, finally feeling just a bit more at ease. “Smiling seems to be made more for you.”

 

There was a silence as you glanced back down at your food, finally uncovering your utensils and picked at the eggs.

 

“well, ya ain’t wrong, Darlin’... bein’ a skull ‘n all, kinda hard t’not smile, eh?” He said, chuckling as you saw his fork come and take a scoop of your food. “‘sides, ya got a skeleton in’ya… bu’ it looks mighty perty when ya smile, showin’ off yer true emotions ‘n all.”

 

Eyes glued to the food on his fork, you watched as he took a bite. Without even chewing, he seemed to have swallowed what he grabbed before running that tongue against his fangs once more, wiping whatever was left from his own food.

 

A humanoid skeleton eating with almost nothing to show for it? Interesting...

 

Noticing you were staring, he gave you yet another smirk.

 

“i’ll get th’wrong idea if ya watch m’eat, Kitten…” He purred as he pointed his fork at your food. “yer food’ll get devoured then, don’ want tha’, eh?” He gave you a soft nudge with his elbow as you looked down to your food.

 

Shame on you, that was very-... _Rude!_

 

Mentally scowling, you stopped anymore thinking and shoved a forkful into your own mouth.

 

Immediately, you could feel that it was a mix of both human and monster food. The food didn’t melt on your tongue like normal, the energy from the magic didn’t surge through you quite as fast, but you ate it gratefully either way.

 

As you continued, the Monster didn’t seem too focused on wanting to ask his other questions he may have had, much to your relief. The atmosphere felt more relaxed as you both continued to eat quietly side by side, watching the tv and allowing the show to run and rumble without distractions. Grateful-... Of the calmness of this Monsters Soul pulsing.

 

...Maybe he’s not _that_ bad?

 

Reaching for the mysterious drink, you gave it a questionable glance before taking a sip-

Only to want to spit it right out, swallowing though as your eyes squinted at the disgusting taste.

 

Strawberry… _Revolting._ Always left a bad taste in your mouth.

 

“oof, sour look for a sweet treat… wha’, did it go bad, Kitten?” The Skeleton said, his tone beginning to get on your nerves.

 

“No, Sir…” You voiced, only to try and drink a bit more of it.

 

As grateful as you were, you didn’t want it to go to waste. Sipping down what you could, your face felt as if it was pushing to make yet another disrespecting face at the item the Skeleton had given you. It only made you drink quicker, trying to desperately chug it down mindlessly as you watched the screen, yet keeping your ears peeled around the area for anything-

“... damn Kitten, stop yer suckin’, ya makin’ me jealous watchin’ here.”

 

Couldn’t help but cover your mouth and choking back a cough, the cold liquid burning all the way up and into your brain with a large spike of pain, the disgusting aftertaste of strawberries coming back into your mouth and slightly in your nose.

 

_Correction; He’s terrible!_

 

“You-… Just have a horrible mind, don’t you?” You glared at him, finally allowing your irritation to seep out fully as you wiped your lips from the leftover liquid.

 

“i mean, ya took it outta context yerself.” He mused, only to grab the drink from your hands with ease. “‘sides, yer turnin’ a shade o’green, ‘n i ain’ up ta cleanin’ ya like tha’, Darlin’.”

 

The whole room was filled with the tv playing whatever as you allowed him to do as he pleased, reluctantly dropping the subject as you looked away. Body feeling as if it was made of lead as you leaned back, your hands in your lap as you tried to finish up the rest of your meal. Tried to take a few more bites, only to feel too full to eat the rest. Giving a soft sigh, enjoying the feel of the cushions, you closed your eyes.

 

...Only to open them back up as you heard the creature slurp annoyingly from the drink he had swiped from you mere moments ago.

 

It made you bite back more than annoyance as you glared at him once more, only for it to die as you watched him in quiet curiosity as he took the straw out and tipped back the rest of the drink, wondering if it would go straight through him…

 

_At least someone seems to enjoy strawberries..._

 

Distracting yourself from trying not to watch the Monster eat anymore, you began to slowly stand and collect the items to dispose of-

Only for the bony hands to wrap around your wrist, halting your movements.

 

“whacha doin’, Darlin’?” He asked, actual confusion on his face.

 

“Cleaning-... up, Sir.” You tried not to make it a question, successfully doing so as you grabbed the rest of the items.

 

The hand relaxed, however the Skeleton stood and grabbed what you had collected with ease, his other hand sliding back on your shoulder as he gave a soft chuckle.

 

“well, ain’t tha’ mighty nice of ya, Darlin’... bu’ we can talk ‘bout yer work later. right now; relax.” He said, only to eye your plate. “couldn’ finish?”

 

“Ah-... Forgive m-”

“okay, okay… hold it right there, Darlin’.” He interrupted you sternly. “today's been a hell of’a day, we can discuss more t’morrow. so how ‘bout i set ya up in here fer th’night?” He said with a softer smile coming onto his face.

 

For a moment, you wanted to lean into his touch as his hand seemed to rub your shoulder, yet you couldn’t get something out of your mind as you continued to keep your eyes glued to him.

 

“... Yes. That-... Sounds nice, Sir.” You gave the creature a gentle nod.

 

“atta gal, fer once i’ll get m’coccxy ta clean a bit, bu’ ya owe me some sugah b’fore bed.” He beamed, giving you a pat on your shoulder. “lemme getcha somethin’ here, so jus’ sit down ‘n relax, allright?”

 

Averting your eyes, you sat back down and waited awkwardly on the sofa. Sounds of footsteps were walking away as you closed your eyes once more.

 

You could rest your eyes until he got back, couldn’t you?...

 

...Yeah, you won’t fall asleep.

 

_The creature can easily give comfort, you're going to have to try harder not to give into the magic he possesses._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader; I want everything to burn.  
> Mutt; y'like perverted puns 'n cuddly hugs?  
> Reader;  
> Reader; I want everything but _one_ thing to burn.  
> Mutt; oh, i'll be yer thing alright~  
> Reader;  
> Reader; ...B u r n e v e r y t h i n g...  
> Mutt; oof, harsh, Kitten!
> 
>    
>  _...Yuno, I swear to God, you stay away from Reader or so help me; I will spray you with ice cold water!!_
> 
> \--------  
> Thanks to [Nascent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nascent/pseuds/Nascent) for being my beta reader once more!   
> Thanks to [StudentOnTheRun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StudentOnTheRun) for helping me come up with a name for Yandere Cat!  
> Go read their stories and follow 'em on Tumblr! Their both super amazin' peepers! ♥
> 
> Thank you ALL for reading! 
> 
> More fluffy moments to come, along with tension... Hoo, that'll be a trip! ♥


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